Diploma

European Board in Head and Neck Radiology Diploma

Aim(s) and target group

The diploma first introduced by the European Society of Head and Neck Radiology (ESHNR) in 2009 is the common European qualification for head and neck radiology specialists and standardises training and expertise in head and neck imaging subspecialisation across Europe. The European Board in Head and Neck Radiology (EBiHNR) Diploma is endorsed by the European Society of Radiology (ESR), as well as by some national radiological societies.

The EBiHNR Diploma is a document certifying in-depth knowledge of the pertinent anatomy, pathology, clinical-radiologic and imaging-related issues in the field of head and neck and maxillo-facial radiology, going beyond the requirements included in the Revised European Training Charter for Clinical Radiology (European Diploma in Radiology, EDiR).

This diploma represents a recognised qualification in head and neck imaging subspecialisation and assists head and neck imagers in the promotion of their skills and experience when dealing with other clinical colleagues and with the general public.

Next diploma examination:

Monday, September 02, 2024 | all day | Online

Application deadline:

Wednesday, July 31, 2024 | 23:59 CEST

Handling fee

– 430,00 EUR: Fee for active members
– 430,00 EUR: Fee for corresponding members
– 200,00 EUR: Re-examination Fee
– 30,00 EUR: Renewal Fee

Terminology

Successful candidates will be awarded the European Board of Head and Neck Radiology Diploma. In addition, they become Fellows of the ESHNR.

Eligibility criteria

Applicants for the European Board in Head and Neck Radiology Diploma must fulfil the requirements mentioned below and must provide documents as follows (if applicable an English translation must also be provided in addition to original documents):

a) Application form
The completed application form must be submitted to the ESHNR Office.

b) Training in radiology
The training of candidates has to be in line with previously established basic principles of radiology training as laid out in the ESR European Training Curriculum for Radiology (Level I and II). Applicants have to prove at least five years of national training in radiology. A certificate of completed training needs to be provided. For candidates with less than five years of training, a confirmation of experience, as a supervised radiologist is required and should be provided in the letter of support.

Subspecialisation should take place after the designated time for radiology residency. In exceptional cases, partial subspecialisation may already start within the years of differentiation (e.g. UK / NL).

c) Subspecialty training
At least two years of subspecialty training or equivalent experience, following radiology certification, is required. Maximum one year of subspecialty training can be done before board certification. A signed letter from the head of department/programme director has to be provided, which may be included in the letter of support.

The level of knowledge requested from candidates has to correspond to the curricular contents for full subspecialisation in the field of radiology provided by the ESR European Training Curriculum for Subspecialisation in Radiology (Level III).

d) Proof of practice
Diplomas may only be awarded to fully trained, licensed, and practicing radiologists. Specialists from other fields and radiologists no longer in practice are specifically excluded from being granted the ESR-endorsed ESHNR diploma. For the purposes of this requirement, a proof of practice has to be provided and this should be confirmed in the letter of support.

e) RIS documentation/Logbook
RIS documentation or logbook countersigned by the candidate’s programme director (at least two years of subspecialty clinical practice/training certified by the programme director are required). This should provide a total record of the candidate’s experience in head and neck radiology.

f) Letter of support
A letter of support from the head of department/programme director is required, which should provide any other information on radiology training, subspeciality training and current practice (as required).

g) CME credits
At least 100 CME credits in head and neck radiology events and/or activities, recognised by ESHNR, are required. All CME certificates should be provided as evidence. The list of events and activities providing CME credits is updated regularly on the ESHNR website. Among these events and activities, there must be attendance at 2 annual ESHNR meetings. ESHNR recommends attending its webinars to get continuous education, CME credits and training for the diploma. Furthermore, attending the annual ESR meetings and using the online resources of the ESR is strongly encouraged.

h) Curriculum vitae
A curriculum vitae (CV) has to be provided.

i) ESHNR and ESR membership
Applicants have to be active full or corresponding radiologist members in good standing of ESHNR and ESR, in the year(s) of application and examination.

Courses and meetings recognised by the ESHNR Education Committee

General guidelines:

  • All courses recognised for the diploma are organised or co-organised by active and internationally recognised members of the ESHNR
  • All courses are accredited by the UEMS and/or by the national radiological societies
  • For meetings and courses that deal only in part with head and neck radiology, only the lectures on head and neck topics are recognised for the curriculum
  • For all ongoing courses of the respective calendar year, the organiser of the course makes sure that the detailed course programme is available via links from the website of the society for online consultation
  • One course hour = 1 point. A total of at least 100 points are required for the diploma. Certificates of attendance are required for documentation
  • The case webinars of ESHNR, regular webinars of ESHNR, ASHNR and BSHNI count for the diploma (1 webinar hour = 1 point)

 

Recognised activities:

  • Annual Meeting and Refresher Course of the ESHNR
  • ESHNR Teaching Weeks 2020
  • Masterclass 2021
  • ESHNR webinars
  • ASHNR webinars
  • BSHNI webinars
  • ECR Vienna (Refresher Courses, Scientific Focus Sessions, State of the Art lectures)
  • ERASMUS Course on Head and Neck
  • Diplôme Inter Universitaire (DIU) ORL organised by the CIREOL / SFR
  • Journées Francophones de Radiologie in Paris
  • ASHNR Annual Meeting and Refresher Course
  • BSHNI Annual Meeting
  • ESMRMB Advanced Head and Neck MR Imaging
  • RSNA Chicago (Refresher Courses)
  • Symposia of the CIREOL
  • ESOR GALEN Advanced Course on Head and Neck Imaging
  • Leuven Course on Ear Imaging
  • Leuven Course on Head and Neck Cancer Imaging
  • HNO Radiology: Part I Face
  • HNO Radiology: Part II Temporal bone
  • HNO Radiology: Part III Neck
  • International Diagnostic Course Davos (IDKD)
  • Swiss Forum Head and Neck Diagnostics
  • Sandwichcursus Neuro- en Hoofd-Hals Radiologie
  • Utah Head and Neck Imaging Conference
  • ECNR Head and Neck course
  • The London Temporal Bone Imaging course
Other activities recognised by the ESHNR Education Committee
  • Presenting a paper orally or a poster (first author only) at the ESHNR Annual Meeting or at the ECR (20 points)
  • Publishing a paper in a peer-reviewed journal:
    – 1 original article or 1 review article = 40 CME points if 1st, 2nd or last author. Authors, title, journal, year, volume, pages, Epub required
    – 1 original article or 1 review article = 20 CME points if any other co-author (3rd, 4th, etc). Authors, title, journal, year, volume, pages, Epub required
    – 1 pictorial review article = 30 CME points if 1st, 2nd or last author. Authors, title, journal, year, volume, pages, Epub required.
    – 1 pictorial review article = 15 CME points if any other co-author (3rd, 4th, etc). Authors, title, journal, year, volume, pages, Epub required
  • Attending the ESOR-ESHNR Exchange Fellowship Programme (60 points)
  • Presenting radiologic examinations at an established multidisciplinary tumor board (e.g., tumor board head and neck cancers, tumor board skull base, multidisciplinary dysphagia board) or multidisciplinary head and neck meeting (MDTB) in the local hospital by the diploma candidate. 1 MDTB = 1 CME credit
    The name of the MDTB and precise details (which hospital, which pathology, date and time, as well as the attending subspecialties) must be provided. A proof of attendance is required (e.g., based on logbook or a separate signed letter from the head of the department or head of the multidisciplinary board)
    A maximum of 10 CME credits per 5 years can be obtained by attending a MDTB.
Examination structure (onsite exam)

Examination structure (onsite exam)

The examination consists of a standardised written and oral component. Both parts have to be passed successfuly, the written part with at least 67% (2/3) correct answers and the oral part needs at least 2 out of 3 well-solved cases.
The candidates will be examined by head and neck radiology experts nominated by the Educational Committee of the ESHNR.

Written exam
– 75 minutes
– Multiple choice questions
– Normal / normal variant versus abnormal
– Pictorial/Annotate the structure questions
– Short cases

Oral exam
– 45 minutes
– 3 cases (15 minutes/case)

The candidate is expected to be able to describe the relevant findings and discuss them with the examiners, provide a differential diagnosis and discuss possible treatment options or further diagnostic tests. The most important part of the oral examination is that the candidate shows that he/ she is able to analyse the case appropriately and provide a suitable differential diagnosis.

Examination structure (online exam)

Examination structure (online exam)

The content and the degree of difficulty is the same as for the traditional written and oral examination. The online-only examination includes an oral examination on various pathologies in the head and neck combining features of the traditional written and oral examinations as outlined above. The emphasis of the exam is on 4 “directed cases” whereby the examiners ask questions about a series of images which explore the ability of the applicant to recognise normal anatomy, describe pathological appearances, formulate a differential diagnosis and display a background knowledge regarding pathophysiology, treatment options and current guidelines. In order to pass, the candidate needs to successfully solve 3 out of a total of 4 cases (a case is considered as failed if the candidate obtains <10/16 points, i.e., 62.5% of the maximum achievable points per case). In addition, he/she has to obtain an overall total score >52% of the total number of achievable points for all 4 cases together (i.e., >33/64 points), these points being based on pre-formulated questions. In addition, there will be two “undirected cases” in which the applicant will be given 2 cases to scroll through and view independently. They will be asked to issue reports online for the 2 cases. These will be marked against a priori criteria to assess whether abnormalities are recognised, pertinent negative findings are reported and whether appropriate conclusions are clearly drawn . There will be 20 points available for the 2 cases in combination and the pass mark will be 10/20 points. As for the traditional examination, an observer is present throughout the examination in addition to the examiners.

Application steps

Step 1: Fulfil the eligibility criteria

Please check if you fulfil all eligibility criteria. Only if you can prove all requirements, your application will be received and evaluated.

Step 2: Send the completed application form and all proofs to the ESHNR Office

If you fulfil the eligibility criteria from Step 1, please complete & sign the application form and send all required documents to the ESHNR Office. The Office will do a pre-check of your documents. If all documents are received, your application will be included to the evaluation process for the next examination.

Step 3: Pay the handling fee

If your diploma application has been accepted, you are kindly ask you to pay the handling fee. After successful payment your diploma seat is reserved.

Diploma Application

To apply for the diploma, please fill in the application form below and send it together with all necessary documents to the ESHNR Office (office@eshnr.eu).
For your application to be reviewed by the ESHNR Educational Committee, your application needs to be complete and have your documents in an organised manner, properly named and scanned.

CLICK HERE to download the diploma application form.

Validity and renewal

Validity and renewal

The European Board in Head and Neck Radiology Diploma is valid for 5 years.

ESHNR will renew the European Diploma in Head and Neck Radiology every five years for full/corresponding radiologist members in good standing of ESHNR and ESR upon proof of at least 20 CME credits per year (equalling 100 CME credits in the past five years). Please check the courses, meetings and other activities recognised by ESHNR in order to collect CME credits.

Diploma renewal handling fee: 30,00 EUR

Advice: Mentoring Programme

We recommend to join the mentoring programme and apply as mentee to prepare for the diploma examination.
More information is available HERE.