Summer 2010

General Updates for Educators

New ARDMS Tutorial Video Available

ARDMS Online Application Tutorial Video

Please take a few moments to play this video for your students and colleagues.

Certificate of Achievement: SPI - Please Share with Students

In an effort to promote a lasting partnership with students, ARDMS sends out Certificates of Completion to individuals who have passed the SPI examination under the SPI Requirement.  The certificate is for personal display only and should never be presented to an employer as proof of registry status or eligibility. 

Please remind your students that until they complete the specialty portion of their chosen credential they are still considered a candidate and cannot represent themselves as an ARDMS Registrant.  If ARDMS discovers that a SPI certificate has been used in a manner of Registrant representation, the individual will be subject to the ARDMS discipline process.  Thank you for helping to share this important information with your students.

Prerequisite 2 Update & Reminder

Reminder: As of January, 2010 ARDMS requires that Educators include the following information on Prerequisite 2 template letters:

• The name of the accreditation body of the program the student completed;
• The date the initial accreditation was awarded; and
• The dates the accreditation is valid through.

To make the process easier, ARDMS has automated the Prerequisite 2 template letter. Once you have filled in your information (ALL fields are required), print out, sign a copy and mail it to the ARDMS. As of September 1, 2010, ARDMS will not accept template letters that do not contain the above information. 

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Oregon Sonography Licensure Law

As of July 1, 2010, the Oregon Board of Medical Imaging (OBMI) will license Sonography as Oregon becomes the first state to do so. The following information can be found on the OBMI website.

Any person who operates sonographic equipment must be licensed. All medical imaging licensees in Oregon must be credentialed by a credentialing organization in a medical imaging modality recognized by the OBMI. 

The appropriate license applications are available online at www.oregon.gov/OBMI, under the Applications link. Click on the appropriate imaging modality and then on the specific application needed. Individuals who hold a credential will complete the Permanent Initial application for their appropriate modality(s).  The following are some quick bullet points for licensure:

1.) Download the Permanent Initial Sonographer License application and complete every field or question. 

2.) Attach a colored photograph approximately 2 inches by 2 inches (similar to a passport photo).

3.) Calculate the appropriate fee using the online Fee Calculator and enclose a personal or business check, money order or cashiers check for the amount. Checks are made out to OBMI. The Board does not accept cash or credit cards for initial licensure.

4.) Attach a copy of your registry registration card(s) indicating you are current with CE and hold a current credential in the license modality(s) you are applying for. 

5.) If the applicant or existing licensee has a criminal history, that the OBMI has not yet addressed, then a letter of explanation, all court and police documents must be included with the application. Applicants and licensees with a criminal history are required to appear before the OBMI for license approval.

If you are currently licensed with the OBMI as a radiologic technologist, radiation therapist or both, then complete the appropriate application for the new modality you wish to add to your licensure (modality applications are part of your permanent record with the OBMI).

 In addition, complete the Duplicate License Request Form and enclose it with your modality application and the $10.00 fee for each copy you need. 

For more information please call the OBMI at 971-673-0215.

Note: The information in this article has been adapted from the OBMI with permission.

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Ensure You Receive ARDMS Email

Due to the growing problem of unsolicited and unwanted commercial emails, many web mail
services (i.e. Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.) and e-mail applications (i.e. Outlook 2003, Mozilla Thunderbird,
etc.) have taken measures to automatically filter bulk e-mails. Unfortunately, these filters end up blocking many newsletters and legitimate e-mails in addition to spam. ARDMS newsletters and updates are not immune, and so
these filters may incorrectly block our e-mails, preventing it from ever reaching your inbox.

To avoid further problems, click here and simply follow the steps outlined to help ensure that you receive important e-mail notices from the ARDMS. Even if you are currently receiving our e-mails, we still advise you to follow these recommendations as a way to prevent future problems. Thank you for your time.  

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Ultrasound Legacy: Dr. Richard Meyer

As Dr. Richard Meyer hangs his lab coat, he can be assured that his hard work and contribution to the field of sonography and ARDMS will not be forgotten.   In this series of “Ultrasound Legacy," ARDMS highlights Dr. Meyer’s stellar medical career and dedication to developing a path for medical professionals to practice echocardiography.

After graduating from medical school in 1964, Dr. Meyer began his career with a fellowship at the Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Throughout his career, he developed a passion for pediatric cardiology. Dr. Meyer has spent his entire career developing and promoting the use of echocardiography in infants.

In the early 1970s, ARDMS was a very small group of dedicated sonography professionals who put together a test with the hopes to standardize and improve the care of patients by those who used ultrasound for medical diagnosis.  After a few years of ARDMS being operated out of Seattle, Dr. Meyers and Joan Korfhagen had the foresight to create a home for ARDMS in Cincinnati where it was based in the Vernon Manor Hotel and in 1975 incorporated ARDMS in the state of Ohio.  In fact, ARDMS is still an Ohio corporation although our headquarters has been in Maryland since 1995.

Though Dr. Meyer has had an exciting successful career as a cardiologist, he has also served as the president of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine and the Society for Pediatric Echocardiography. In addition to holding the presidency of these two highly regarded associations, Dr. Meyer is also an Adjunct professor of pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati and director of the Congenital Heart Disease Clinic at University Hospital.

ARDMS recognizes Dr. Meyer for all of his hard work and dedication to the field of sonography.

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Spotlight on a Sonographer: Joy Guthrie
ARDMS Credentials: RDMS (AB, BR, NE, OBGYN), RDCS (AE, FE, PE), RVT (VT)
Registered Since: 1988
Current Position: Ultrasound Supervisor

The Great Wall of China and the Green Monster at Fenway Park in Boston can be counted among the "great walls” of our world.  Now we can add another notable wall to the list – the ARDMS Wall of Excellence at the Community Regional Medical Center (CRMC) in Fresno, CA. This newest addition displays the ARDMS certification certificates for all 24 sonographers who work at CRMC.  In January 2009, Joy Guthrie, the newly hired ultrasound supervisor at CRMC, embarked on the ambitious goal of having 100% of the sonographers earn ARDMS credentials for the specialties they practice.  Fifteen months and 31 examinations later, that milestone has been achieved.  “When I started at CRMC, there were 24 individual sonographers; now we are one TEAM,” Joy said recently.

ARDMS wanted to get the story behind this tremendous accomplishment, and who better to tell it than Joy herself.

ARDMS: How has your department and the care provided to your patients changed now that all the CRMC sonographers are ARDMS certified?

Joy: The sense of pride among the sonography team is palpable and they now realize that no goal is unobtainable when they are willing to try.  It has also provided a sense of unity and a commitment to continued education. We had sonographers who earned ARDMS credentials for the first time and others who stepped-up to obtain additional credentials and/or specialties. The achievement was announced on our hospital website (www.communitymedical.org/crmc.htm) and now the entire hospital is aware of our collective accomplishment. In addition, the team now has a weekly “lunch and learn” session to spotlight cases from each sonographer and to provide in-depth training in new areas of interest. Even our radiologists have commented on the vast improvement in our scanning and attention to detail, resulting in better patient outcomes.

ARDMS: What were the highlights and challenges you and your team experienced during the 15-month journey for all 24 sonographers to earn ARDMS credentials?

Joy: The highlight of this journey was the sonography team's willingness to seek additional knowledge with no financial incentive or gain. The pitfalls were arranging multiple registry review sessions to help the staff achieve this goal. These sessions were held after hours and the sonographers were not paid for these sessions. The other staff members had to "cover" for those who needed assistance during these sessions. 

ARDMS: What advice would you give to other sonography departments looking to make the same commitment of having 100% of the sonography staff ARDMS certified?

Joy: You must have the backing of the administration to set a deadline, set concrete goals, empower the employees, and help to instill the spirit and will to do this. Try to be the "help" not the hammer and assist them to meet their potential.

ARDMS: Joy, why did you choose the profession of sonography?

Joy: Sonography is more than a job to me, always has been, always will be. It has always been my belief that "there is no room for mediocrity in medicine" and that ARDMS has provided a pathway to help fulfill that motto.  I am ARDMS certified in each area that I practice and feel that the patients I serve deserve that commitment. Sonography is also an amazing combination of art and science. It is unique in that each patient, exam and encounter is distinctly different. It allows you to put forth your knowledge of anatomy and pathophysiology and play a  vital role in making the appropriate diagnosis to present to the interpreting physician. No matter how bad your day is, it puts into perspective the human suffering that you encounter, and how your smile and touch can make a world of difference to an ailing patient. My role as an educator has allowed me to see young minds molded and shaped into caring and incredibly talented sonographers. My career has been a testament that it is good to "pay it forward," and I cannot express how proud I am of my wonderful team of sonographers.

*Front row left to right: Alma Luna, Joy Guthrie, Georgia Lambert, Gabriella Salazar
Back row left to right: Charlotte Garcia, Ashley Fry, Carla Savoia, Claudia Hernandez, Sally Lai, Michael Garcia, Todd Mertens, Pam Denton.
Not pictured: Pamela Cassidy, Pam Burdick, Savuth Kem, Kristina Brady, Kristen Swarts, May Xiong, Colombe McGowen, Debby Wall, Theresa Lara, Yolanda Alveraz, Nancy Contreras, Heather Hibner
Photo courtesy of Joy Guthrie

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