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For more information about the ARDMS' position on recertification, read the latest press release, available on the
ARDMS homepage.
The
American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS) is beginning to investigate a recertification process designed to demonstrate continuing competency in practicing sonography professionals. While a recertification program helps fulfill our mission and complies with ARDMS accrediting bodies, we are acutely aware of our Registrants’ concerns. The stress of an examination process, cost, and time requirements are all being considered carefully. We will design a recertification program that will be affordable and will be an educational experience rather than a traditional examination. Multiple credential holders concern about cost will also be
carefully considered. Continuing Medical Education (CME) will continue to be a part of the process. Again, this is intended to be a positive learning experience that will help advance the professional careers of our Registrants, thereby benefiting patient care.
We began this process in 2000, and have carefully researched different models for recertification by studying national and international professional organizations. More recently a randomized on-line survey was sent to Registrants to gain their input. In January, ARDMS invited The Society for Diagnostic Medical Sonography, the Society for Vascular Ultrasound, the American Institute for Ultrasound in Medicine, the American Society for Echocardiography, the Canadian Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers, and the American Society of Radiologic Technologists to meet as a Community Advisory Work Group in Washington, DC, to review and discuss these
issues. Their input and assurance of continued dialogue was invaluable to ARDMS. With the guidance and support of these organizations, we are confident a recertification program will be designed that will further our common goals of excellence and patient safety.
As the ARDMS moves ahead in this program, which has been in the research stage for some time, it is important for Registrants to know that it will take years to fully develop and implement. Our Registrants and supporting organizations will remain critical during this stage as we design the best possible process using our expertise and their important input. The volunteer subject matter experts who formulate these examinations and the process of exam development will hold strictly to the policies of consistency and dependability for which ARDMS has long been recognized.
This process is in keeping with the mission statement of ARDMS, "To promote quality care and patient safety through the certification and continuing competency of ultrasound professionals." ARDMS is accredited by the International Standards Organization (ANSI-ISO17024) and the National Commission of Certifying Agencies (NCCA). These organizations allow ARDMS to validate structure, policies and procedures to ensure accuracy, fairness, and dependability. Although both of these accreditation agencies require some form of recertification, and allow broad latitude in the design of recertification programs, the ANSI-ISO17024 program strongly suggests a recertification
program be qualitative to assure present day practices are being represented by a credential. ARDMS will take advantage of this flexibility to enlist the support of Registrants and supporting organizations as the recertification program begins to take shape.
Please join us and lend your support as we move into this new and exciting area and continue to advance excellence in sonograhy and patient safety.
Steven A. Leers, MD, RVT
Chair, ARDMS Board of Directors
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New! Overview of the Sonography
Principles & Instrumentation (SPI) Examination
In Spring 2009, the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS) will introduce the new Sonography Principles and Instrumentation (SPI) examination. The SPI examination will meet the fundamental physical principles and instrumentation requirements for the Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer (RDMS), Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer (RDCS), and Registered Vascular Technologist (RVT) credentials. Sonography professionals wanting to earn an ARDMS credential will be required to apply for and pass both the SPI and corresponding specialty examinations. Once the SPI examination is passed, applicants may go onto earn multiple
credentials without having to repeat any physical principles and instrumentation requirements[1].
The SPI examination will test basic physical principles and instrumentation knowledge required for all sonography professionals and students. The 2009 versions of the specialty examinations will include some physics and instrumentation content and questions that are unique to that specialty. The content outline for the SPI examination
is available on the ARDMS website. Content outlines for the 2009 versions of the specialty examinations will be posted on the ARDMS website in March 2008. Once the SPI examination is released, active ARDMS Registrants wanting to earn a new credential (RDMS, RDCS, and RVT) will need to pass both the SPI and corresponding specialty examinations. Those seeking additional specialties within an existing credential will only need to take the specialty examination. ARDMS policy does not permit a "grandfather clause " for active ARDMS Registrants or for those who previously passed the specialty-specific Ultrasound (RDMS), Cardiovascular (RDCS), or Vascular (RVT)
Physical Principles and Instrumentation examinations.
ARDMS is pleased to announce that students in a sonography/vascular technology related program who can document successful completion of a physics program by the Program Director will be permitted to apply for and take the SPI examination prior to graduation[1]. Students may begin applying for the SPI examination in 2009. Additional details, including specific prerequisite information and the date applications will begin to be accepted, will be posted on
www.ARDMS.org.
New applicants, candidates, and Registrants working towards earning ARDMS credentials may wish to focus on taking multiple specialty examinations over the next year. Upon the release of the SPI examination in Spring 2009, those who have taken and passed specialty examinations and the new SPI examination will have the unique opportunity of earning multiple credentials. New applicants and candidates who are required to earn a credential prior to the release of the SPI examination in Spring 2009 will need to follow the current examination pathways (the credential-specific physical principles and instrumentation and the corresponding specialty
examinations). Finally, candidates still in the process of earning a credential as of Spring 2009 will automatically be converted to the new streamlined pathway.
ARDMS will share more detailed information regarding the SPI examination with Registrants, educators, students, and the sonography community over the coming months through postings on the ARDMS website, e-mails, newsletters, and press releases. If you wish to receive e-mail notifications about the latest SPI updates, please
click here.
[1] Within ARDMS application guidelines.
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Announcement of the New Prerequisite 5
ARDMS has added a new prerequisite 5 to the 2008 online and printed application books that will allow individuals with the following current credentials to apply for ARDMS examinations under a new experiential-based prerequisite:
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Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI) - RCS or RVS
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American Registry of Radiologic Technologist (ARRT), - Vascular Sonography, Sonography or Breast
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Australian Society of Ultrasound in Medicine (ASUM) - DMU
Applicants who choose to apply under the new prerequisite 5 must hold an active certification and provide a copy of an active certification identification card or license. Additionally, original signed and completed Clinical Verification (CV) forms for each appropriate specialty area(s) are required.
For a copy of the revised and complete prerequisite checklist, please visit www.ARDMS.org/prereqchart. CV forms are available online at www.ARDMS.org/cv
or can be found in the back of the printed copy of the 2008 application booklet on pages 31-39. For a copy of the 2008 Application Booklet go to www.ARDMS.org/appbook.
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Registrant Services:
You Asked, Now Here are Our Answers
The ARDMS Registrant Services department has compiled a list of frequently asked questions.
Q: I took and passed one exam, how do I apply to take another exam? The prerequisite I initially applied under is no longer available.
A: As you already met the first-time applicant criteria and were deemed eligible the very first time you applied to the ARDMS, you are considered a reapplicant. As a reapplicant, you do not need to choose a prerequisite. The ARDMS does not require proof of additional education or case studies in order to be found eligible as a reapplicant. However, we strongly recommend that you complete a minimum 400 hands-on scanning cases in the new area.
As a re-applicant, you will be required to submit the following in order to sit for an ARDMS examination:
You may apply directly online or request an application booklet through the ARDMS website,
www.ARDMS.org.
Q: Am I a first-time applicant if I'm registered RDMS and want to earn the RVT?
A: As you already hold an ARDMS credential, you are considered a reapplicant. As a reapplicant, you do not need to choose a prerequisite. The ARDMS does not require proof of additional education or case studies in order to be found eligible as a reapplicant, even when applying for a new credential. However, we strongly recommend that you complete a minimum 400 hands-on scanning cases in the new area.
Q: Do I need a CV form if I am registered? I thought it was only required for first-time applicants or students.
A: The Clinical Verification (CV) form became required for all specialties from all applicants as of January 1, 2005, regardless of credential status or work experience. CV forms can be downloaded directly from the ARDMS website, www.ardms.org/cv, and can also be found in the back of the ARDMS
Examination Information and Application booklet.
Q: Can I be audited in the middle of my three year cycle? What if I don't earn my CMEs until the last year of my cycle?
A: Registrants are only eligible for audit the year after their three year CME cycle ends. The ARDMS provides a fixed three-year CME period to allow Registrants the full three years to accumulate the required 30 CMEs; therefore you will not be audited in the middle of your three-year period.
Q: Why aren’t CMEs being recorded on my transcript? Why does it still say I have to earn 30 CMEs if I already earned a number of credits?
A: As of February 2006, CME credits should not be sent to the ARDMS as they will no longer be recorded onto the CME Transcripts. The ARDMS has adopted a random audit system, which means that Registrants are now required to maintain the 30 ARDMS-acceptable CMEs in good faith and only submit them if selected for audit the year following the end of your three year period. Registrants selected for audit will be notified via certified correspondence from the ARDMS and will be required to mail in proof of their CMEs at that time.
Q: Does the ARDMS have an ‘Inactive’ Status?
A: No, ARDMS no longer offers an ‘Inactive’ Status. ARDMS has four (4) recognized levels within our examination process:
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Applicant – An individual who sends in an application for review in an effort to be approved to sit for ARDMS examination(s) and is awaiting notification of eligibility.
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Candidate – An applicant who has met all required prerequisites, whose application has been approved and who is allowed to sit for ARDMS examination(s).
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Registrant – A person who has successfully completed a physical principles and instrumentation examination with a corresponding specialty examination and has earned an ARDMS credential. A person can be classified as an applicant, a candidate or a Registrant (Active or Retired); nothing else.
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Retired status is permanent. Should you wish, at any point in the future, to return to Active Status, you would be required to reexamine as a first-time applicant. You will be required to meet one of the prerequisites available at the time of the new application.
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2008 Renewal: Procedure for Reinstatement
The ARDMS would like to remind those who did not pay their 2008 annual renewal fee by the deadline of December 31, 2007, that their ARDMS credential(s) has been revoked. As you already know, in order to maintain "Active" Registry status, you must accrue a minimum of 30 CME credits within your three-year CME cycle and you must pay your annual renewal fee by December 31st of each year.
However, your ARDMS credential(s) can be reinstated by following the procedure below.
Procedure for Reinstatement:
You must comply by February 29, 2008. All payments must be received in the ARDMS office by February 29, 2008:
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You must pay the $60 USD (or $75 CND) annual renewal fee, ($90 USD or $115 CND for RPVI)
AND
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You must pay the $150 USD (or $187 CND)reinstatement fee
Please log on to the secured Registrant Resources section of
www.ARDMS.org
to pay your fee today (online payments are made in U.S. dollars). OR you can pay your fees by personal check or money order. Your check or money order must include your ARDMS number and must be mailed to ARDMS marked as follows:
ATTN: Status Reinstatement
ARDMS
51 Monroe Street, Plaza East One
Rockville, MD 20850-2400
USA
By paying your 2008 annual fee and reinstatement fee, you will be attesting that: (1) you are in compliance with all ARDMS rules and policies
, including ARDMS CME requirements; and (2) you shall continue to comply with all ARDMS rules and policies on an ongoing basis, as may be amended from time to time, without prior notice.
If you fail to comply with the above requirements by February 29, 2008, your credential(s) will remain revoked. This means that you are not allowed to use any of the ARDMS credential designations (such as RDMS, RDCS, RVT, RPVI) in any venue, and you will have to retake and pass all required examinations in order to regain your ARDMS credential(s).
For more information, send an e-mail to RSgeneralinfo@ardms.org or contact the Registrant Services Department directly at 1-800-541-9754 and select option 3. Don’t forget to visit
www.ARDMS.org for news and updates.
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Ultrasound Careers Website
The Ultrasound Careers website was started for the sonography community in order to provide quick, informative information relating to employment opportunities by providing links, organizations, schools and testimonials from other Sonography professionals.
Recently, ARDMS merged the Ultrasound Careers website with the new www.ARDMS.org site. By combining the two sites ARDMS makes finding information easier and more accessible for all visitors to the website. Please visit the new careers section of the site by going to the
ARDMS homepage and click on the Jobs in Sonography link, located under Quick Links.
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Winter 2008
News You Can Use
2008 Application Booklets are Now Available
The 2008 Examination Information & Application booklet is now available. To obtain a copy of the general application booklet, go to www.ARDMS.org/appbook. To obtain a copy of the Physicians' Vascular Interpretation application booklet, go to
www.ARDMS.org/pviappbook.
Recertification
ARDMS recently began investigating the development of a program to quantify on-going professional practice standards, commonly referred to as "recertification". The ARDMS will continue to provide information on the recertification subject at appropriate times throughout the investigative process and the sonography community will receive advanced notification and detailed information prior to implementing the recertification program. To read the press release,
click here.
Reminder: CME Audit
If you are an ARDMS Registrant whose three-year CME cycle ended on December 31, 2007, you may be randomly selected to send in your CME certificates as proof that you are indeed compliant with ARDMS CME requirements, as you so stated when you paid your 2008 annual renewal fee. If you are randomly selected for audit, you will receive a certified audit selection notification letter by the end of March 2008 asking for your CME documentation by the date specified in the letter. You should also check your record online in the secured
Registrant Resources section of the ARDMS web site (www.ARDMS.org
). Your record will note whether or not you have been audited for the 2005, 2006, 2007 three-year CME cycle. We strongly recommend that you check to verify your audit status.
If you earned your first credential in 2004, your three-year CME period began the day you attained the first credential and includes any time that remained in 2004 plus the next three years (January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2007).
To obtain your three-year CME period, please log on to the secured Registrant Resources by visiting
www.ARDMS.org.
Here’s an example of your three-year period:
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Starts on |
Consists of |
Ends on |
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Current Three –Year
CME Period |
Jan. 1, 2005 |
2005, 2006, 2007 |
Dec. 31, 2007
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Next Three –Year
CME Period |
Jan. 1, 2008 |
2008, 2009, 2010 |
Dec. 31, 2010
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Next Three –Year
CME Period |
Jan. 1, 2011 |
2011, 2012, 2013 |
Dec. 31, 2013
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Stay Connected…Update your E-mail Address Record
To ensure that ARDMS Registrants receive the most up-to-date news and notifications about their status and what’s happening within the organization, ARDMS encourages you to update your contact information. Click here for details.
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