Resident Exams

The ECVDI Diploma Examination

In order to receive the ECVDI Diploma you must pass the ECVDI Diploma examination.  The examination is divided into two parts:  a theoretical and a practical part. 

Resident Exams

The examination consists of two parts, a theoretical and a practical part.  Both parts are held annually in January/February.  Successful completion of the examinations confers membership in the European College of Diagnostic Imaging.  

Further information on residency training can be found in the Bylaws. 

Exam Practical Guidance

Please download powerpoint at the bottom of this page.

Examination Procedure

What to Expect:  (download document at the bottom of this page)

Study Guide

The ECVDI Study Guide is a guide for ECVDI residents preparing for the theoretical board examination, and is intended to give an indication of topics that may be covered in the examination. Examiners will base their question selection on the Small Animal and Large Animal Exam Content Outlines. 100% adherence to the objectives in this document is not guaranteed.

 

Explanation of criterion referenced standard setting

The pass mark for the theoretical examination is now determined by criterion referenced standard setting.  The purpose of standard setting is to determine the pass mark for a test.  In criterion referenced standard setting the standard is based on a predetermined level of competency.  We use the modified Angoff method to determine the standard; a group of ‘subject matter experts’ (ECVDI diplomates) review the examination and score each question for difficulty.  The score is based on the percentage of competent entry level diplomates who would be expected to answer the question correctly.  A very easy question might be scored 90% and a very difficult question might be scored 30% for example. The group of Angoff scorers then meet via webinar and discuss any questions in which there was a wide variation(>20%)in perceived difficulty in order to produce a consensus on difficulty for that question.  During the discussion, they have the opportunity to adjust their scores for these discrepant items, if desired.  The standard for the exam is the average of the difficulty scores for the items used on the examination.

Once the candidates have sat the exam, the results are reviewed statistically. The pass mark for the exam can be adjusted within one standard deviation of the calculated standard to align with natural breaks in the candidate scores. For example, if the exam standard (pass mark) was determined to be 70% and the results showed that a cluster of candidates scored 69% and were clearly separated from a cluster of candidates scoring 65%, the pass mark may be adjusted to 69%.  The identities of the candidates remains anonymous through this process and are only revealed to the exam committee once the results have been finalised.

Procedure for communicating with failing candidates

Theoretical examination candidates

Failing theoretical exam candidates will be informed of their own exam mark (%) and the pass mark for the exam. They will also be informed of their relative performance compared to other candidates. They will receive information as to the question topics that they performed well on, and the question topics that they performed poorly on. They will not receive information about individual questions.

Practical examination candidates

Failing practical exam candidates will receive a letter telling them about their performance in the exam.  They will be told their % score for each section. The letter will include a summary of areas where they performed poorly (lack of detail descriptions, incorrect conclusions for example) and details of which modalities (radiographs, MRI, CT, ultrasound) they performed well or poorly on. Answers for individual cases will not be provided.