The Redesigned American Board of Radiology 16-month Pathway in Nuclear Radiology: Initial Outcomes (2017-2022)

Launched on July 1, 2017, the redesigned American Board of Radiology 16-month Pathway in Nuclear Radiology is flourishing. The original goal of this accelerated training pathway was to help meet the ever-growing demand for nuclear radiology subspecialists in academic and community practices. As of March 1, 2024, 125 graduates of the 16-month pathway had achieved specialty certification in either diagnostic radiology or interventional radiology/diagnostic radiology; nearly 60% had also attained advanced certification in nuclear radiology and/or nuclear medicine. Between March and May 2024, we surveyed this group of 125 specialty board-certified pathway graduates to evaluate the impact of the pathway on their individual careers and on the overall workforce; 69/125 (55%) respondents completed the survey. The vast majority (86%) pursued at least one traditional fellowship after residency, thus becoming multi-subspecialized. The majority (62%) currently work in an academic setting. The vast majority (80%) currently practice nuclear radiology; 40% of those reported that nuclear radiology comprises at least 50% of their time or typical workload. PET/CT represents the predominant modality/service (59%) and a significant minority (11%) perform radiotheranostics/radiopharmaceutical therapies; the vast majority (80%) practice nuclear cardiology. We anticipate that the ABR 16-month pathway will continue to thrive and that its graduates will continue to bring their expertise in this rapidly expanding domain to their clinical practices and research pursuits to the benefit of radiology, medicine, patients, and society.