# The implications of the American Board of Radiology's decision to relinquish its specialty board designation on prospective authorized medical physicists (AMPs) and radiation safety officers (RSOs)

## TL;DR

The American Board of Radiology's loss of its specialty board status affects new medical physicists and radiation safety officers in the US.

## Contribution

This paper analyzes the implications of ABR's decision on future authorized medical physicists and radiation safety officers.

## Key findings

- ABR's NSB status loss impacts new applicants for authorized medical physicist and RSO roles.
- Changes do not affect existing diplomates but affect future T&E attestation processes.
- Residency directors and preceptors may face challenges due to these regulatory changes.

## Abstract

In order to independently supervise the medical use of byproduct material, physicists in the United States (US) must legally meet the qualifications defined by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in the 35th part of the tenth title of the Code of Federal Regulations (§ 10 CFR Part 35). The American Board of Radiology (ABR) relinquished its NRC‐recognized specialty board (NSB) status at the end of 2023, which eliminated the NSB application pathway for those who earn ABR certification in 2024 and beyond. While these changes in NSB status are not retroactive and will not affect eligibility for diplomates who already possess certificates, these changes will nonetheless have repercussions for those individuals who regularly provide training and experience (T&E) attestations to the NRC, such as residency program directors, brachytherapy rotation preceptors, or radiation safety officers. This article will focus on the repercussions for new authorized medical physicist and radiation safety officer applicants with ABR certificates to be conferred in 2024 and later.