The SCMR is pleased to endorse the inaugural Certification Board of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (CBCMR) Exam to be offered in May of 2019. For a number of years the SCMR has supported the development of a CMR board certification exam. This support was reinforced by a 2015 survey of SCMR physician-members in which 64% of the respondents felt that CMR certification would benefit both providers and patients. In December of 2016, the SCMR signed an agreement with Inteleos, a non-profit organization that includes the Alliance for Physician Certification and Advancement (APCA). APCA has a long track record of excellence and is responsible for the creation and oversight of physician certification programs for ultrasound, nuclear cardiology (CBNC) and cardiovascular computed tomography (CBCCT). The resulting alliance between APCA and SCMR lead to the formation of the CBCMR and started the process of developing a global standard for CMR certification. Over the past two years, many SCMR members, including Assessment Committee Chair Dr. Vic Ferrari, and Vice-Chair Dr. Amit Patel, have volunteered to assist in the development of a high-quality certification process. The SCMR leadership has firmly supported this effort and believes that this global certification exam will serve to identify individuals who can safely and competently perform CMR with the professionalism and quality necessary to make this important diagnostic test more widely available to patients. The CBCMR examination will assess candidates on their knowledge, skills and abilities in preparing patients for CMR studies, selecting appropriate protocols, conducting CMR studies in a spectrum of scenarios and interpreting the results, and performing post-processing tasks. Some of the many ways that the CMR certification exam will benefit the CMR practitioner and the field are:
- Verifies training credentials and tests whether the applicant has an adequate knowledge base to competently perform CMR.
- Provides an official certification that one can use to verify appropriate training. This can be helpful as a job candidate, or when hiring a CMR physician.
- Exam preparation will foster intensive study and focused learning.
- The exam content outline provides a guide for training programs and courses.
- Certification provides a means to market CMR proficiency to patients – “This CMR lab is staffed by CBCMR certified individuals”.
- The CBCMR exam helps pave the way for multi-modality certification; CBNC, CBCCT, and CBCMR are all under the auspices of APCA.
The inaugural 2019 examination will take place May 7 – June 7, 2019, and will be offered at Pearson VUE test centers located worldwide. Level II training as defined by the SCMR Training Guidelines partially fulfills exam eligibility criteria. Complete details regarding exam eligibility, content, dates and fees can be found at www.apca.org/cbcmr or by calling 240-631-8151.
The first CMR Exam Preparatory Course will be held February 6&7 in Bellevue, WA, in conjunction with the SCMR 22nd Annual Scientific Sessions (www.scmr2019.org), and a second course is under development to be held April 2019 prior to the first exam.
