Eligibility

See Certification Exam/Training Requirements for a complete description of the education and training requirements.

For physicians who received their training in the United States or Canada, a Program Director’s verification of training and clinical competence is required. The Program Director must complete the form Program Director’s Evaluation of Clinical Competence and send it directly to the ABNM.

Physicians who receive part or all of their residency training abroad may have their foreign training accepted as being equivalent to some of the training required in the United States and Canada by having their credentials formally reviewed by the ABNM.

This foreign training includes the preparatory clinical year, as well as prior training in Nuclear Medicine or Diagnostic Radiology. A physician must have at least one additional year of Nuclear Medicine or Nuclear Radiology training in the United States or Canada.

A Program Director of an accredited Nuclear Medicine or Nuclear Radiology training program must support the review and submit the request. See the Credentials Request page for additional information and supporting documentation required for the formal review.

A request to have the ABNM accept prior training should be made as soon as possible, ideally, before beginning training in the United States or Canada, to make sure the training plan fulfills the education and training required by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to be an authorized user and the Eligibility and Training Requirements for the ABNM Certifying Exam.

A physician certified in Nuclear Medicine or Radiology in a country other than the United States or Canada may be eligible for certification by ABNM without additional training in the United States or Canada if he or she has had three years of full-time experience, or equivalent, in any combination as a resident, fellow, visiting scholar, or faculty in any department with an ACGME accredited Nuclear Medicine or Nuclear Radiology training program. The three years of experience must be equivalent to the ACGME Nuclear Medicine program requirements currently in effect and may include up to 6 months of CT experience and up to 6 months of elective time and/or research. Physicians must also have the training or work experience required by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Chair of the physician’s department, or Program Director in the physician’s hospital, must document the physician’s experience in a letter sent to the ABNM, which includes the following information:

Dates of training and/or employment, including the total amount of full-time experience, or equivalent, in Nuclear Medicine or Nuclear Radiology, as defined above
Average number of hours per week or percentage of time that the physician currently practices nuclear medicine, including the average number of hours per week or percentage of time teaching residents or fellows
Number of months of CT experience
Number of the procedures in the following categories: cardiac stress test supervision, pediatric nuclear medicine, radioiodine therapy (malignant and benign disease should be listed separately), and parenteral therapy
Training or work experience required by the NRC (10 CFR 35.190, 290, and 390) , including 700 hours of experience, and three cases using ≤ 33 mCi of sodium 131I, and three cases using >33 mCi of sodium 131I
Certification in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
The average number of hours per week teaching residents or fellows

A $200 non-refundable processing fee is required when requesting the ABNM accept prior training or work experience.

A physician must maintain a current, full, and unrestricted license to practice medicine in at least one jurisdiction in the United States, its territories, or Canada. The physician also must have a current, full, and unrestricted license to practice medicine in all jurisdictions where the physician is licensed, and, must not have a license that is restricted or limited, revoked or suspended, or voluntarily surrendered or allowed to expire to avoid action(s).
See Policy/ABNM Policy on Licensure Standards for Certification and Continuing Certification for a full description of the licensure requirements and certain exceptions.

A copy of every unexpired medical license held by the applicant at the time of the exam must be submitted to the ABNM. Copies must show the expiration date. If a physician has only one medical license that expires before the Certification Exam, the physician must submit a copy of the renewed license before the exam results will be released.

A physician without a medical license may be eligible to take the Certification Exam if they have applied for a medical license before the exam date. The results of the exam will not be released until a copy of the medical license is received by the ABNM.

The deadline for receipt of all medical licenses is December 31 of the year the Certification Exam is taken, after which time exam results will be null and void.

A physician may be eligible to take the Certification Exam with a restricted (in-training residency or fellowship) medical license if the physician is enrolled in a training program after July 1. A letter is required from a Program Director to confirm enrollment of the resident.

A physician may be eligible to take the Certification Exam with an institutional license (hospital privileges) while the physician is in specialty or subspecialty training. A letter is required from a department chair (or appropriate supervisor) confirming the physician will have hospital privileges while in training.

A physician who does not meet all of the eligibility requirements to take the ABNM Certification Exam may have his/her credentials formally reviewed by the ABNM. A Program Director of an accredited Nuclear Medicine or Nuclear Radiology training program must support the review and submit the request. See the Credentials Request page for additional information and supporting documentation required for the formal review.