Initial Certification > DO Alternate Pathway

Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO)
Alternate Pathway for Diagnostic Radiology Certification

Physicians who have completed their radiology residency in osteopathic hospital systems in the United States or Canada are considered eligible for the Alternate Pathway for Osteopathic Physicians. If they have completed a clinical year at an ACGME, AOA, or RCPSC-approved program, and four years of diagnostic radiology training at a facility approved by the American Osteopathic College of Radiology and the American Osteopathic Association, (www.aocr.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=3), they are eligible to pursue certification by the American Board of Radiology through either of two pathways: the Standard (ACGME residency) Pathway or the Alternate Pathway.

Requirements for DO participation in the Alternate Pathway include:

• Satisfy the training requirements of an American Osteopathic Association (AOA)-accredited diagnostic radiology training program; and
• Obtain AOBR certification.

The Board will assess a candidate’s status relative to its Policy for Alternate Pathway to Certification in Diagnostic Radiology for Osteopathic (DO) Physicians after receipt of all of the following documents:

• Current, detailed curriculum vitae with specific dates of all training
• Verification of:
  
  • Medical school training
  • One year of clinical training in an AOA, ACGME or RCPSC-approved program (see note 1)
  • AOA-accredited radiology residency training
  • AOBR certification
• Completed application form
• Payment of administrative fee, to be included with the application form
• Sponsoring department agreement, including a four-year plan (see Note 2 below)

Optional:

• If you plan to practice breast imaging, please submit a plan to meet the MQSA Breast Imaging requirements. For more information, please read the RRC Breast Imaging Requirements section of the website.

Note1: Clinical training

The first postgraduate year must be accredited clinical training in internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery or surgical specialties, obstetrics and gynecology, neurology, family practice, emergency medicine, transitional year, or any combination of these.

If there is an elective in diagnostic radiology, it must be in a department with an AOA- or ACGME-approved residency program and cannot be longer than two months. No more than a total of three months may be spent in radiation oncology and/or pathology.

Note 2: Four-year plan

The required four years of full-time, continuous residency training or continuous faculty fellowship experience must be completed in one ACGME-/RCPSC-approved program. On a case-by-case basis, credit for research training of up to 12 months may be granted if the research is completed at the same institution as the remaining clinical training.

The four-year experience must include four months of nuclear medicine training.