What's the deal with board certification in radiology?

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What does it mean to be "Board Eligible" or "Board Certified."
Can you become board certified before you finish residency?
Does everyone go on to become board certified?
At what point are you board eligible?
Would board certification mean that you really know your stuff, or something?
I know that radiology residents have to take physics boards. Is this a component to becoming a BC radiologist? In which PG year does this happen? Is there an oral component to the physics boards?

Wow, I asked a lot of questions.

Thanks in advance!

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What does it mean to be "Board Eligible" or "Board Certified."
Can you become board certified before you finish residency?
Does everyone go on to become board certified?
At what point are you board eligible?
Would board certification mean that you really know your stuff, or something?
I know that radiology residents have to take physics boards. Is this a component to becoming a BC radiologist? In which PG year does this happen? Is there an oral component to the physics boards?

Wow, I asked a lot of questions.

Thanks in advance!

Board Eligible: Have completed a residency in radiology and are eligible for, but have not completed, the steps needed to be certified by the American Board of Radiology.

Board Certified: Have completed residency and have been certified by the American Board of Radiology.

The board certification has three parts: a written physics exam, a written radiology exam, and an oral radiology exam. Most residents take the physics exam in September of PGY-3/PGY-4, the written exam in September of PGY-4/PGY-5, and the oral exam in June of PGY-5. Most people are board certified when they finish residency, although I've heard of people taking many years after residency to become board certified. Many places won't hire a non-board certified radiologists, and board eligible radiologists are usually paid less.

There is no oral component of the physics exam.
 
Board Eligible: Have completed a residency in radiology and are eligible for, but have not completed, the steps needed to be certified by the American Board of Radiology.

If you go on the ABR website, it specifically states that there is no such status as 'board eligible' recognized by the ABR. There is 'board certified' and 'not board certified', that's it.

Some people interpret having passed the written diagnostic and physics as making you 'board eligible', because after all it makes you eligible to sit for the orals. It is a bit of a back-door to get credentialed for moonlighting gigs at hospitals that require board eligibility.

Board Certified: Have completed residency and have been certified by the American Board of Radiology.

The nice thing in rads is that you are board certified the day you finish residency (assuming you passed the orals in june of 4th year). There is a push from some academic egg-heads to change that, but so far you are ready to go out and hit the job market on day1.
 
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