Paul E. Wise, M.D.
Radiology residents continue to excel in board exams
For the eighth year in a row, Vanderbilt University Medical Center radiology residents have achieved a 100 percent pass rate on the oral American Board of Radiology examination.
Vanderbilt’s radiology residents completed the exam with no failures nor any “conditions,” which means all candidates passed the oral exam on the first attempt.
As a result, Vanderbilt will maintain its No. 1 ranking, which it has held for the past three years.
The 11-part oral exam, which is required for residents to become board certified in diagnostic radiology, was completed by the eight residents in the program in June 2004.
“Our’s is the only program out of 191 in this country able to make this claim,” said Thomas Dina, M.D., director of the residency training program in Radiology and Radiological Sciences. “When you combine exceptionally bright and personable residents who enjoy training at Vanderbilt with a dedicated faculty with a high priority on teaching, it is easy to run a successful program.”
Dina said that unlike other specialties, in which board certification occurs one or more years after residency, the ABR exam occurs in the last month of residency.
“Maintaining the number one residency program in the country four years in a row is a reflection of the continued commitment of the faculty and the department to the residency program and outstanding quality of the radiology residents who complete their training at Vanderbilt,” said Martin Sandler, M.D., chairman of the department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences.
For certification by the American Board of Radiology, residents are examined in three parts. The first is the written physics exam, which can be taken as early as the second year.
The clinical exam is normally taken in September of their third or fourth year, although most take the exam in the third year.
This is followed by an oral exam in June, which is primarily a pass-fail system for each of the 11 sections of diagnostic radiology. The written clinical examination also covers the 11 subspecialties of radiology, but in a more readily scored format.
Sandler is the Carol D. and Henry P. Pendergrass Professor.