Cardiac CT certification hinges on experience

Results from the first Cardiac CT Board Examination suggest that clinical experience is what counts the most toward making the grade.

Dr. Allen J. Taylor from the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC, and colleagues at another six major U.S. research institutions found a high correlation between results of the Board Exam, which took place in September 2008, and criteria for certification. Exam results showed radiologists and cardiologists who met requirements for CCT competence certification did equally well on the test. Those who did well included physicians with at least one month of CCT reading experience (100% pass), fellows with formal CT training (96.3% pass), and early adopters of the technology or “self-trained” candidates (93.2% pass). The investigators released findings at the 2009 Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography meeting in Orlando, FL.