- What ABR-NMP-P2 Actually Means
- Who Administers It and Why That Matters
- Exam Format, Timing, and Question Style
- The Five Domains Behind the Name
- Eligibility, Registration, and Fees
- Why Passing Part 2 Is Not Full Certification
- Who Hires for This Credential
- Mapping Study Time to the Name
- Frequently Asked Questions
- ABR-NMP-P2 refers specifically to the American Board of Radiology's Nuclear Medical Physics Part 2 Qualifying Examination.
- The exam covers five named domains, from radiation protection to clinical procedures, with no published weighting.
- The 2027 Part 2 exam is scheduled for August 11, 2027, following a February 1-March 31, 2027 application window.
- The exam fee is USD 640, separate from the USD 250 initial certification application fee.
What ABR-NMP-P2 Actually Means
ABR-NMP-P2 identifies the Nuclear Medical Physics Part 2 Qualifying Examination, administered by the American Board of Radiology (ABR). It is one part of a multi-stage certification pathway for medical physicists who specialize in nuclear medicine imaging and therapy physics. The name itself is descriptive rather than a formal registration code - ABR's own published materials identify the specialty and exam part by name, without assigning a separate alphanumeric exam code. On this site, "ABR-NMP-P2" is used purely as a shorthand identifier for that specific exam.
If you are trying to understand exactly what this term refers to before diving into study materials, it helps to start with the fundamentals covered in What Is ABR-NMP-P2? and What Does ABR-NMP-P2 Stand For?, which unpack the terminology in more depth than a single definition can.
Who Administers It and Why That Matters
The American Board of Radiology governs the Nuclear Medical Physics Part 2 exam within its broader medical physics certification structure. This matters because the ABR's content guide, remote-exam policies, fee schedule, and eligibility rules are the only authoritative sources for what the exam actually tests and how it is delivered. The current content guide governing Part 2 was updated July 2, 2026, and the accompanying Medical Physics Remote Qualifying Exam Guide was revised July 23, 2026 - both of which underpin the specifics described throughout this article.
It is also worth distinguishing ABR certification from other nuclear medicine credentialing bodies, such as the American Board of Science in Nuclear Medicine (ABSNM). These are separate certification pathways with different scopes, and candidates should not treat them as interchangeable when planning a career or comparing requirements.
Exam Format, Timing, and Question Style
The Nuclear Medical Physics Part 2 exam is delivered as a single-session, remotely proctored, computer-based test scheduled through myABR. According to the July 23, 2026 remote-exam guide, the exam consists of 130 questions with 4 hours and 1 minute of answering time. On top of that, candidates receive a 20-minute tutorial/practice period and 25 minutes of break allowance, bringing the total allotted session time to 4 hours and 46 minutes.
Most items are multiple-choice, but ABR's preparation materials also describe drag-and-drop, image-location questions where a candidate identifies an anatomical site, equipment component, or graph region. This format shift means candidates need comfort not just with calculation-based questions but with visual identification tasks tied to imaging equipment and physiologic structures.
- Closed-book exam - no scratch paper or personal notes allowed
- A physical erasable whiteboard is permitted but must be clear at the start and end of the session
- An embedded or ABR-approved handheld calculator is permitted
- One active monitor and an external side-view webcam are required, with live and recorded monitoring by ABR staff
- Starting a break locks responses to previously viewed questions, and excess break time reduces answering time
Before test day, candidates must complete the Exam Readiness Check using the actual computer and location they intend to use for the exam. For a full walkthrough of how these logistics interact with content coverage, see ABR-NMP-P2 Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt.
Key Takeaway
Because the whiteboard must be wiped clean before and after the session and scratch paper is banned, practice performing multi-step dose and statistics calculations using only a small physical whiteboard or its digital equivalent - not full notebook pages.
The Five Domains Behind the Name
ABR-NMP-P2 content is organized into five domains. ABR has not published percentage weights for any of them, so no domain should be assumed more heavily tested than another. Treat all five as essential.
Domain 1: Radiation Protection, Safety, Professionalism and Ethics
Covers internal, fetal, and CT dosimetry; occupational and public radiation safety; shielding design; and professional/ethical responsibilities.
- Dose estimation methods across different exposure scenarios
- Shielding calculations for nuclear medicine facilities
Domain 2: PET & Hybrid
Covers PET detector physics, acquisition, image reconstruction, attenuation/random/scatter corrections, quantification, PET/CT integration, and quality control including acceptance and annual testing.
- Correction algorithms and their clinical impact
- PET/CT quality assurance protocols
Domain 3: Single Photon Imaging Systems
Includes scintillation cameras, solid-state cameras, and hybrid systems, along with intrinsic and extrinsic performance testing, collimation, digital and dynamic imaging, SPECT, SPECT/CT, and quality control.
- Camera uniformity and resolution testing
- SPECT/CT registration and correction issues
Domain 4: Radiation Measurements
Covers dose calibrators, well counters, survey meters, and thyroid probes, plus detector efficiency, dead time, single- and multichannel analyzers, statistical tests, error propagation, image statistics, chi-square tests, and minimum detectable activity.
- Instrument calibration and quality control routines
- Statistical analysis applied to counting data
Domain 5: Clinical Procedures
Covers cardiac, pulmonary, tumor, bone, brain, thyroid, lymphatic, radionuclide therapy, and brachytherapy procedures.
- Procedure-specific dosimetry and imaging protocols
- Therapy planning considerations across organ systems
For a deeper breakdown of each domain with study strategies specific to it, review ABR-NMP-P2 Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 5 Content Areas. If you are still gauging overall difficulty across these five areas, How Hard Is the ABR-NMP-P2 Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 offers additional context.
Eligibility, Registration, and Fees
Standard eligibility for Part 2 requires having passed both the General and Clinical sections of Part 1, and completing - or being on track to complete by August 31 of the exam year - a CAMPEP-accredited residency or Doctor of Medical Physics program. Residency must begin within 10 years of passing Part 1. Once board eligible, a candidate has six full calendar years from residency completion or Part 2 approval, whichever comes first, to complete the certification process. Already-certified medical physicists pursuing nuclear medicine as an additional specialty follow a separate ABR-approved prospective, supervised clinical training pathway while retaining their existing certification.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Part 2 Examination Fee | USD 640, due at registration |
| Initial Certification Application Fee | USD 250 (separate pathway charge) |
| Re-examination Fee (after first-attempt failure) | USD 250, one-time, for Part 1 and/or Part 2 |
| 2027 Application Window | First business day in February through March 31, 2027 |
| 2027 Exam Date | August 11, 2027 |
Fees are nonrefundable, though prepaid exam fees following cancellation or nonattendance carry forward toward the next available exam. Approved applicants for the 2027 cycle are invited to register in May 2027. For the full cost picture, including how the application fee and exam fee interact, see ABR-NMP-P2 Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown, and for a deadline-focused view, check ABR-NMP-P2 Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
Why Passing Part 2 Is Not Full Certification
A common misunderstanding around the name "ABR-NMP-P2" is assuming that passing this exam alone makes someone board certified. It does not. The ABR's initial certification pathway for medical physics requires passing Parts 1, 2, and 3. Part 2 is a qualifying step - it confirms readiness in the specialty-specific content domains listed above, but certification itself is only granted after all three parts are completed.
Results for Part 2 are scored on a criterion-referenced basis against an established passing standard, not against other candidates' performance, and are normally posted in myABR with email notification about one month after the exam date. A failing result on Part 2 requires retaking the entire exam, not just weak sections. For candidates researching how this exam is scored in practice, ABR-NMP-P2 Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass and ABR-NMP-P2 Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows go into more detail - note that any ABR-published pass-rate figures for medical physics Part 2 are all-specialty aggregates, not numbers isolated to the nuclear medicine specialty.
Who Hires for This Credential
Employers seeking nuclear medicine physicists typically include hospital nuclear medicine departments, academic medical centers with PET/CT and SPECT/CT programs, radiopharmaceutical therapy programs, and multi-specialty medical physics groups that support nuclear medicine alongside diagnostic radiology or radiation oncology services. Because the credential specifically validates competency across PET, single-photon imaging, radiation measurement instrumentation, and clinical nuclear medicine procedures, it signals readiness for roles involving equipment quality control, radiopharmaceutical dosimetry, and clinical physics support for nuclear medicine therapies.
For candidates weighing career direction, ABR-NMP-P2 Jobs and Is the ABR-NMP-P2 Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 discuss how the credential fits into broader career planning, while ABR-NMP-P2 Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis reviews compensation data drawn from AAPM survey sources - distinguishing medical physicist roles from nuclear medicine technologist roles rather than assuming certification guarantees a specific pay increase.
Mapping Study Time to the Name
Because "Nuclear Medical Physics Part 2" spans five distinct domains with no official weighting, a practical approach is to allocate study blocks proportionally to how much raw content each domain covers, then revisit weaker areas closer to the exam date.
Radiation Protection & Radiation Measurements
- Work through dosimetry, shielding, and instrument calibration problems
- Practice error propagation and chi-square statistical calculations
PET & Hybrid, Single Photon Imaging
- Review reconstruction algorithms and correction methods
- Study camera QC procedures and SPECT/CT troubleshooting scenarios
Clinical Procedures
- Work through organ-system-specific procedures and therapy dosimetry
- Connect clinical scenarios back to instrumentation and safety topics
Integrated Review
- Take timed practice sets mimicking the 130-question, ~4-hour format
- Rehearse whiteboard-only calculation technique under closed-book conditions
Practicing under conditions that mirror the actual remote exam environment - closed-book, whiteboard-only, timed - is one of the most specific things a candidate can do to prepare. You can build that habit using practice test questions modeled on the exam's five domains, or work through a condensed reference like the ABR-NMP-P2 Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts for last-week review.
If your goal is simply building exam-day familiarity through repeated exposure to realistic question formats, our practice question bank is organized around these same five domains rather than a generic physics curriculum, and additional background on the credential itself is available through ABR-NMP-P2 Certification and What Is ABR-NMP-P2 Certification?.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. ABR's published materials identify the specialty (Nuclear Medical Physics) and the exam part (Part 2) by name rather than a distinct alphanumeric code. "ABR-NMP-P2" is used on this site as a descriptive shorthand for that exam.
According to the July 23, 2026 remote-exam guide, the exam includes 130 questions with 4 hours and 1 minute of answering time, plus additional tutorial and break time bringing the total session to 4 hours and 46 minutes.
No. Passing Part 2 is one qualifying step. Full initial certification in medical physics requires passing Parts 1, 2, and 3.
The Part 2 examination fee is USD 640, due at registration, and is separate from the USD 250 initial certification application fee. A one-time USD 250 re-examination fee applies after a first-attempt failure.
ABR has not published percentage weights for any of the five domains - Radiation Protection/Safety/Professionalism/Ethics, PET & Hybrid, Single Photon Imaging Systems, Radiation Measurements, and Clinical Procedures - so all should be studied thoroughly.