Certification Exam

Eligibility

To be eligible for subspecialty certification in Vascular and Interventional Radiology, candidates must meet the criteria below:

• Hold primary AOBR certification in Diagnostic Radiology
• Have completed one year of formal, AOA-approved or ACGME-accredited concentrated study in Vascular and Interventional Radiology.
• Hold an active license to practice in a U.S. state or territory or Canada.
• Adhere to the AOA Code of Ethics.

Requirements

At the time of application, you must submit the following to the AOBR:

• A completed application
• Examination fee

Exam Fees

An application fee of must accompany your completed application. No application will be considered complete until all fees have been paid.

Exam Dates and Deadlines

The Vascular and Interventional Radiology Subspecialty Certification Exam is offered once per year, generally every spring. The application period approximately six months and closes approximately three months prior to the exam date. For a list of currently scheduled exam dates, please visit our Important Dates page.

Exam Content Outline

The AOBR Vascular and Interventional Radiology Subspecialty Certification Examination will be offered once per year and is presented in an oral examination format. The examination contains 25 cases. Candidates have one hour to complete the exam, which covers the following topics:

• Anatomy and physiology
• Methods of examination
• Technique
• Indications and contraindications
• Pharmacology of contrast agents, where applicable
• Radiation safety and protection
• Elements of normal and abnormal interpretation applicable to vascular and interventional radiology

Exam Scoring

Scoring Criteria

AOA reports candidates’ certification results using standardized scaled scores. Scaled scores are more valid and reliable compared to raw scores and make scores comparable across different forms of the exam. The AOA reports scores on a 200 to 800-point scale with a scaled score of 500 or higher required to pass.

• A scaled score of 500 represents the minimum level of knowledge and skill necessary to pass the exam as established by AOA Certifying Boards.
• The highest possible scaled score is 800.
• The lowest possible scaled score is 200.
• Overall scores are based on the total number of items answered correctly, regardless of content area.

Results by Content Area

• When possible, a breakdown of exam scores by content area is provided to help you identify your areas of strength and areas that may need more development.
• The number of items for each content area indicates the relative amount of test questions on the exam for that content area.
• Content area scores are not weighted to calculate your overall score; each content area is scored separately after the overall analysis is complete.

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