Examinations

Definition of Specialty Areas



Certificates
A certificate is issued to each candidate who meets the requirements of the Board and passes the examination as outlined below and indicates that the holder of the certificate has adequate training in the Specialty of Nuclear Medicine Science and has demonstrated knowledge adequate to practice Nuclear Medicine Science in one or more of its Specialties:
  1. Nuclear Medicine Physics and Instrumentation
  2. Radiopharmaceutical Science
  3. Radiation Protection
  4. Molecular Imaging
A certificate granted by this Board does not of itself confer, or purport to confer, any degree of legal qualifications, privileges or license to practice Nuclear Medicine Science.

Meaning of Certification
A certificate from the American Board of Science in Nuclear Medicine indicates that its holder has successfully completed certain requirements of study and professional experience, which the Board considers necessary to constitute an adequate foundation in Nuclear Medicine Science. It also indicates that the candidate has passed an examination for ability and competence in the field of Nuclear Medicine Science.

​Requirements for ABSNM Certification
Please note: All foreign degrees and certifications must be evaluated for U.S Equivalency by the World Education Services (WES). You may apply to WES online at: https://www.wes.org/apply/index.asp
  1. Requirements for candidates taking Nuclear Physics and Instrumentation Specialty

    1. General Education:
      A master’s or a doctorate degree in physics, medical physics, engineering, applied mathematics, or other physical sciences from an accredited college or university, and

    2. Training/Work Experience:
      Two years (doctorate candidates) or three years (master’s candidates) of full-time practical training and/or supervised experience in medical physics:
      1. Under the supervision of a medical physicist who is certified in medical physics by a specialty board recognized by NRC or an Agreement State, and who will provide a letter of reference attesting to the candidate's experience and competency; or
      2. In clinical nuclear medicine facilities providing diagnosticand/or therapeutic services under the direction of physicians who meet the requirements for authorized users in 10CFR35.290 and 10CFR35.390, and who will provide a letter of reference attesting to the candidate’s experience and competency. (NEW: In letter of reference, physicians must specifically state "I am an authorized user of radiopharamceuticals as defined in 10CFR35.290 and 10CFR35.390.")
  2. Requirements for candidates taking Radiopharmaceutical Science Specialty

    1. General Education:
      A master's or a doctorate degree in physics, nuclear pharmacy, biological science, radiopharmaceutical science, chemistry or other pharmaceutical science from an accredited college or university, and
    2. Training/Work Experience:
      Three years of full-time practical training and/or supervised experience in radiopharmaceutical science:
      1. Under the supervision of an authorized nuclear pharmacist who is on a licensee’s radioactive material license and has experience in radiation safety, and who will provide a letter of reference attesting to the candidate’s experience and competency; or
      2. In clinical nuclear medicine facilities providing diagnostic and/or therapeutic services under the direction of physicians who meet the requirements for authorized users in 10CFR35.290 and 10CFR35.390, and who will provide a letter of reference attesting to the candidate’s experience and competency. (New: Physician must certify in letter of reference that they are authorized users in 10CFR35.290 and 10CFR35.390.)
  3. Requirements for candidates taking Radiation Protection Specialty
    1. General Education:
      A master’s or a doctorate degree from an accredited college or university in physical science, engineering, health physics, or biological science with a minimum of 20 college credits in physical science, and
    2. Training/Work Experience:
      five or more years of professional experience in health physics (graduate training may be substituted for no more than 2 years of the experience) including at least 3 years in applied health physics. 
  4. Requirements for candidates taking Molecular Imaging Specialty
      1. General Education:
        A master’s, a professional (e.g., MD, DO, Pharm.D., or the equivalent) or a doctorate (Ph.D., D.Sc. or the equivalent) degree from an accredited college or university. The master’s or the doctorate degree must be in physics, medical physics, chemistry, biological sciences, engineering, applied mathematics, or other natural sciences, and
      2. Training/Work Experience:
        Two years (professional and doctorate degree candidates) or three years (master’s candidates) of full-time practical training and/or supervised experience in molecular imaging science:
        1. 1. Under the supervision of a nuclear medicine scientist who is certified by the ASBNM or an equivalent board (e.g., ABR, ABMP, or ABHP), and who will provide a letter of reference attesting to the candidate’s experience and competency; or In clinical nuclear medicine facilities under the direction of an ABNM or the equivalent (e.g, ABR) certified physician(s) and who will provide a letter of reference attesting to the candidate’s experience and competency.
  5. Examination: All candidates must pass an examination for certification by ABSNM. The examination evaluates knowledge and competence of the candidates in radiation physics and instrumentation, radiation protection, radiation biology, radioisotope production, radiopharmaceutical chemistry, radiation dosimetry, and diagnostic nuclear medicine physics and instrumentation. The certifying examination is written and consists of two parts as detailed below: 

    Part 1: General Examination. Each candidate is required to take this part entitled "General Nuclear Medicine Science." This part involves basic aspects of atomic and nuclear physics, instrumentation, radiopharmaceuticals, mathematics pertaining to the use and measurement of radioactivity, statistics, radiobiology, dosimetry, radiation protection and regulations, basic anatomy and physiology, pathology, clinical diagnostic nuclear medicine physics and instrumentation, clinical in vivo imaging and in vitro studies. 

    Part 2: Specialty Examination. Each candidate must take at least one of the following four Specialty examinations. This part examines in depth the knowledge of the candidate in the specialty area.
    1. Nuclear Medicine Physics and Instrumentation. This examination includes in-depth materials on atomic and nuclear physics, radioactivity measurement, imaging, basic image data processing, statistical analysis, quality control, radiation dose estimation, mathematical modeling, principles of imaging and radioactivity detection and instrumentation, instrument design, health physics and radiation protection and clinical diagnostic nuclear medicine physics.
    2. Radiopharmaceutical Science. This examination will cover in depth the topics of radionuclide production, radiopharmaceutical design and formulation, radioactivity measurement and radionuclide identification, pharmacology and tracer methodology, quality control, internal dosimetry, radiation protection and regulations, radiochemistry, radiation biology, physiology, toxicology, clinical diagnostic nuclear medicine physics, and clinical uses of radiopharmaceuticals.
    3. Radiation Protection. This examination includes in depth the topics of types and properties of radiation, interaction of radiation with matter, dose units and concepts, radiobiology, regulations, approaches to radiation protection, shielding, personnel monitoring, internal dose measurements, decontamination, waste disposal, and other aspects of radiation control.
    4. Molecular Imaging Science. This examination includes in-depth materials on the physics of molecular imaging science, including: radioactivity measurement, imaging, image data processing, statistical analysis, quality control, radiation dose estimation, mathematical modeling, radioactivity detection and instrumentation, and radiation protection, radionuclide production, molecular imaging probes and tracers design and formulation, pharmacology and tracer methodology, radiochemistry, radiation biology, and clinical applications of molecular imaging.
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