ABR NMP study guide
ABR NMP · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The ABR Nuclear Medical Physics Part 2 Qualifying Exam is the specialty-specific second step toward ABR certification in medical physics. It is aimed at candidates who have already passed Part 1 (both the General and Clinical sections) and who have completed, or are on track to complete, a CAMPEP-accredited residency or DMP program by August 31 of the exam year. The exam is computer-based and takes approximately five hours in a single session, and it is offered once a year, typically in August. Content emphasizes the knowledge gained during a CAMPEP-accredited medical physics residency and tests a broad understanding of nuclear medical physics practice, alongside professionalism and ethics material covered by the ABR's Professionalism & Ethics content guide. Question formats are mostly multiple choice, with drag-and-drop items asking you to identify an anatomical site, equipment component, or region on a graph. Scoring is criterion-referenced against a fixed standard; the exam is scored as a whole and all categories must be passed together. Topics on this exam: Nuclear Medical Physics (Part 2 specialty content) and Professionalism and Ethics. The ABR NMP study guide has 2 sections and about 760 words.
01Nuclear Medical Physics: Instrumentation, Radiopharmaceuticals, and Dosimetry
Candidates must be fluent in the physics of radionuclide production (reactor vs. cyclotron), decay schemes (isomeric transitions, beta-plus/beta-minus, electron capture, parent-daughter equilibria), and how photon energy and abundance drive imaging quality. Know the gamma camera chain: collimator geometry and resolution-sensitivity trade-off, NaI(Tl) scintillation, photomultiplier tubes, pulse-height analysis, and position logic. Understand SPECT reconstruction (filtered backprojection vs.
391 words, about 2 min02Professionalism and Ethics in Nuclear Medical Physics
Professionalism questions test judgment, not memorized trivia. Know the ABR Code of Ethics themes: competence, honesty, patient welfare first, confidentiality, scope-of-practice limits, and avoidance of conflicts of interest. Understand informed consent and the ALARA principle as ethical obligations, not just regulatory ones. Be ready to distinguish negligence from malpractice (malpractice requires a duty, breach, causation, and damages).
369 words, about 2 minMore study resources for ABR NMP
- Practice questionsThe physical half-life of Tc-99m is approximately 6 hours.
- FlashcardsTc-99m half-life. 6.01 hours; emits 140.5 keV gamma; most common SPECT tracer; parent Mo-99 (66 h) in generator; eluted as pertechnetate.
- Cheat sheetRadionuclide half-life: T½ = ln(2)/λ; activity A(t) = A₀ e^(−λt); after n half-lives, remaining fraction = (1/2)^n.
- Key termsradionuclide generator. A system in which a long-lived parent radionuclide decays into a shorter-lived daughter that is periodically eluted for clinical use, such as molybdenum-99 yielding technetium-99m.
- Study planMap the Nuclear Medical Physics Part 2 content outline into a personal topic checklist with confidence ratings.
- Common mistakesWeight-proportional scaling is the intuitive rule learned first, and candidates apply it reflexively without checking that most pediatric nuclear medicine dosing uses a minimum activity floor or a specific consensus guideline rather than pure linear scaling.
- Exam-day guideBring the exact form of ID the testing provider requires.