A HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN BOARD OF NUCLEAR-MEDICINE

The American Board of Nuclear Medicine gave its first certifying exami nation in 1972 to 1,096 candidates, It was established with the suppor t of the Society of Nuclear Medicine amid considerable conflict involv ing the American Board of Radiology, the American Board of Internal Me dicine, and the American Board of Pathology. As a result of the numero us parties involved, the initial formation of the Board was as a conjo int Board that required the approval of one of its sponsoring Boards f or the acceptance of candidates for certification. Conflicting certifi cations were subsequently established, including the subspecialty cert ification in Nuclear Radiology by the American Board of Radiology and subspecialty certification in Radioisotopic Pathology by the American Board of Pathology. In 1985, the American Board of Nuclear Medicine wa s finally relieved of the burden of conjoint Board status and became o ne of the primary Boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties. There are presently 12 active members of the American Board of Nuclea r Medicine, 40 living life members who serve the Board, and 3 deceased life members. As of this date, the Board has certified 4,236 speciali sts in nuclear medicine and continues to grow and thrive. Copyright (C ) 1996 by W.B. Saunders Company