Since certification examinations are required to be practice related, ARRT periodically conducts a job analysis to make certain that the certification examination content specifications and the clinical requirements remain comprehensive, accurate, and fair. ARRT, with the help of the professional community, reviews the certification documents every five years. The ARRT Board of Trustees recently approved changes to the following document, which goes into effect on September 1, 2026.
OVERVIEW OF MAJOR CHANGES TO THE CONTENT SPECIFICATIONS AND OUTLINE:
Patient Care: Time-out, power injection options, and scanning techniques were added. The reactions to contrast and medication section was expanded.
- Safety: Adverse event reporting was added.
- Image Production: External equipment was added. The Informatics section was updated.
- Procedures: Lumbar was updated to be lumbosacral, and sacrum/coccyx was therefore removed. Heart was updated to be cardiac and additional details were added. Esophagram, urogram/IVU, renal stone, retrograde cystogram, and colonography (“virtual”) were added. Biliary was removed, since this anatomy is included in an abdominal scan. Under the Focus of Questions area, pediatric was updated to be infant/young child, and surgical planning was added.
- The number of scored questions in each section was slightly changed but the total number for the examination remains the same.