ABR Core Exam

It is taken by Diagnostic Radiology and Interventional Radiology/Diagnostic Radiology candidates in the ABR initial certification pathway. The exam is designed to assess a candidate's skills and knowledge over the broad scope of diagnostic radiology and interventional radiology, including clinical practice domains across all imaging modalities, imaging physics, and noninterpretive skills.

Three content areas: clinical practice domains across all imaging modalities, imaging physics, and noninterpretive skills. The ABR publishes domain-level resources describing Critical Concepts, a Blueprint with estimated percentages of content, and an Overview listing diagnoses that could be assessed, so you can see both the scope and the emphasis placed on each topic.

The ABR describes the exam as image rich and says it emphasizes image interpretation. That framing matters for preparation: interpretation skill is best built through clinical experience supplemented by in-depth reading aimed at understanding the range of presentations of any disease, rather than through fact memorization alone.

The ABR states explicitly that unusual diagnoses are not emphasized on the exam. The Domain Overview lists diagnoses that could be assessed and defines the scope of each domain, but it is not intended as a study guide. Use it to calibrate breadth, and expect the emphasis to fall on commonly encountered material.

Start with Domain Critical Concepts to confirm you meet the expected level by the end of the third year of training, then use the Domain Blueprint to weight your time by estimated content percentage, and the longer Domain Overview to check scope. The ABR calls these resources informational and says each candidate should decide what additional materials to use, with ABR information as guidance.

Not necessarily. The ABR states that candidates who use practice tests or other review materials developed by other organizations or commercial entities should not expect any ABR exam to align with those materials regarding scope, format, or difficulty. Treat third-party material as supplemental and let ABR domain information set your expectations.

The ABR describes the sample question set as a way for candidates to view the types of questions they will encounter. It also cautions that the sample questions should not be used to assess whether your knowledge of a domain is sufficient to pass, and that they are offered solely so you can get a sense of how your knowledge and skills may be assessed.

The ABR frames the expected knowledge level as what a candidate should know at the end of the third year of training, so preparation is cumulative rather than a last-minute sprint. Build interpretation experience during rotations, layer in-depth reading on disease presentation ranges, and use the domain resources to identify weak areas before intensive review.

Treating the Domain Overview as a study guide or drilling rare diagnoses. The ABR says the Overview is not intended as a study guide and that unusual diagnoses are not emphasized. A second common error is judging readiness from a commercial practice test score, which the ABR warns will not reliably reflect exam scope, format, or difficulty.