PreparingforABRMedicalNuclearPhysicsandABSNMExamsNATHAN BU S S E , M . S . D A B R DA B SNM

CO LO RADO A S SO C I AT E S I N M ED I C A L P H Y S I C S

AUGU S T 1 , 2 0 1 7

DisclosuresRecentlycompletedABSNM- PhysicsandInstrumentation(2016)andABRMedicalNuclearPhysics(MNP)(2017)

Item-writerforABROLAMOCDiagnosticcommittee

Nospecificknowledgeoftestitems

ABR- ObtainingaSecondCertificateForafirstcertificateinMNP,processissimilartoDiagnostic,butrequiresMNPresidency.

Forthosewithanexistingcertificate,Part2requiresequivalentofatleastoneyearofclinicalexperienceinMNP obtainedAFTERdiplomateisfullycertifiedinpreviousdiscipline.

ExperiencemustbeattestedtobysomeonewithABR,ABMP,ABSNMNuclearMedicinecertification.

Onceapproved,candidatehassixyearstocompleteprocess,Part2mustbetakenwithinfouryearsofapproval.Ifeitheroftheprecedingrequirementsaren’tmet,candidatemustcompleteayearofclinicalexperienceataninstitutionthathasaCAMPEP-accreditedresidency.

Beginningin2019,theclinicalexperiencemustbePROSPECTIVE. Diplomateandsupervisormustsubmitplanpriortoinitiationofclinicalexperience.Moredetailstobepublishedin2017.

ApplicationsacceptedbetweenDec1andJan31.

ABRPart2ContentGuide

ABRPart3ContentGuide

ABSNMOverviewOfferedannuallyontheSaturdaybeforethestartoftheSNMMIannualmeeting

Fourdifferentsubspecialtyexams:

-NuclearMedicinePhysicsandInstrumentation

-RadiopharmaceuticalScience

-RadiationProtection

-MolecularImaging

ABSNM- RequiredCredentialsRequirementsforPhysicsandInstrumentation:

-MSorPhDinphysics,medicalphysics,engineering,appliedmath,orotherphysicalsciences

-Twoorthreeyearsexperience(PhD/MS)offull-timepracticaltrainingand/orsupervisedexperienceinmedicalphysicseitherbymedicalphysicistcertifiedbyanNRCrecognizedspecialtyboardoraphysicianAUmeetingrequirementsforimagingandlocalizationstudiesandunsealedbyproductmaterialrequiringawrittendirective(10CFR35.290and390)

-Letterdocumentingtheexperience

-DoesnotrequireletterfromsomeonewhohastakenABSNM

ABR- ExamFormatandDayof

SameasABRDiagnosticParts2and3

ABSNM- ExamDayOfAdministeredinhotelconferenceroom.

Scantron format,twoexamineespertable.

Coffeeandwateravailable.

Bringyourowncalculator– itmustbeapprovedbyexaminers

Part1:GeneralExamination– Morning.3hours.180Questions.

Oneoroneandahalfhourbreakforlunch.

Part2:SpecialtyExamination– Afternoon.2.5hours.100Questions.

RecommendedStudyMaterials-Cherry,Sorensen,andPhelps,PhysicsinNuclearMedicine,knowthis.Allofthis.ThisistheBushberg equivalentforMNP.

-KnollRadiationDetectionandMeasurementrecommendedforcountingstatistics,errorpropagation,andelectroniccircuits.

-EarlyandSodee,PrinciplesandPracticeofNuclearMedicine,recommendedforclinicalchapters,especiallybone,thyroid,andcardiovascular.

RecommendedStudyMaterialsABSNMhasmoreclinicalbreadthanddepththanABRMNP

-Steves,ReviewofNuclearMedicineTechnology,designedforNMtechs,thisisusefulforradipharmacuetical knowledge,clinicalimages,etc.

-RamerandAlavi,NuclearMedicineTechnology:ReviewQuestionsfortheBoardExaminations,thisisapocketreferencefullofNMtech-typeboardexamquestions.

StudyTipsBoththeseexamsarehard!DoyouregularlyworkinNuclearMedicine?Ifnot,thentheseexamswillbeREALLYhard.

Ispent80-100hoursover3-4monthsstudyingforABSNMandMNPPart2– Itookthemboththesamesummer.

NMexamshavelessstudymaterialonlinethandiagnosticortherapyexams.Findastudybuddyandsharestudyguidesandoutlines.Createpracticeproblemsforwrittenororalexamsandquizeachother.

Knowcommonstatisticalformulas:standarddeviation,chi-squared,MDA,etc.

Developqualitativeunderstandingofreconstructionmethods:howthedifferentparametersaffectreconstructionforbothfilteredbackprojectionanditerativetechniques.

Knoworderofmagnitudeperformancecharacteristics(sensitivity,resolution,dead-time,etc)forcommonimagingmodalities.

ABRStudyTipsForABRPart2workalltheproblemsyoucan– ABRsampleproblems,CSPandKnoll’sproblemsandexamples,etc.Ifyou’relikeme,you’vebeenoutofschoolafewyearsandyourmathwillberusty.

Knowwhat’sontheABRlistofconstantsforPart2anddon’tmemorizethose(althoughmaybedoforABSNM).

ForPart3,practicetalkingthroughanswerstoimaginaryquestions.Lookataclinicalimage–describetheimage,howitwasacquired,whattheexamisfor,etc.

ABSNMStudyTipsFor20mostcommonNMproceduresknow:

-Clinicalindications

-Radionuclidesandtracer

-Biologicpathways

-Standardimageacquisitiontechniquesandappearances

Theremaybequestionsonproceduresnolongerregularlyperformedatmanysites:Thalliumheartstudies,first-passcardiacstudies,etc.

Somequantitativeproblems,butfewerandalowerdegreeofdifficultythanABR.

ABRPart2SampleQuestions- Simple

ABRPart2SampleQuestions- Complex

ABRPart2SampleQuestions– NewItemTypes

ABR– MaintenanceofCertificationSameasMOCforDiagnostic

NotethatdiplomateswithmultiplecertificateswillhavetwiceasmanyOLAMOCquestions!

ABSNM- MaintenanceofCertification100Category1ContinuingEducationCreditsevery4years(25CEsperyear).70%mustbeindiplomat’sprimaryspecialty.

$75annualMOCfee

Initialcertificationrenewedeveryfouryearsforfouryeartermbasedonrecertificationapplication

Thanks!

SpecialthankstoDustinGress forABSNMpreparationrecommendations