There are more than 200 certified ultrasound technician schools in the US that have sonography programs accredited by CAAHEP. When a program is accredited, it means that it has passed the standards set throughout the US for sonography education. Once you graduate from accredited sonography colleges, it is time to take a credentialing exam to be a certified sonographer. The ARDMS offers several certification exams to sonographers through the year.
American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography
The ARDMS is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1975. It aims to offer credentialing examinations for RDMS, RDCS, RVT, RPVI, and RMSK. The organization aims to promote quality care to patients by certifying sonographers and setting standards for them to meet.
Before you can take the examinations for specialization, the ARDMS will require you to take the SPI – Sonography Principles and Instrumentation – exam first. It is only after passing this basic exam that the sonographer can take one or more specialty examinations, depending on how many specialties he or she has.
For the best sonography training, choose a program that is CAAHEP-accredited. Out of the 200 accredited schools in the US, there are only three CAAHEP accredited online ultrasound schools. You have a choice among certificate, associate degree, or bachelor degree programs, as well as four main specialties (general, cardiac, vascular, and pediatric cardiac).
Before you can take the examinations for specialization, the ARDMS will require you to take the SPI – Sonography Principles and Instrumentation – exam first. It is only after passing this basic exam that the sonographer can take one or more specialty examinations, depending on how many specialties he or she has.
For the best sonography training, choose a program that is CAAHEP-accredited. Out of the 200 accredited schools in the US, there are only three CAAHEP accredited online ultrasound schools. You have a choice among certificate, associate degree, or bachelor degree programs, as well as four main specialties (general, cardiac, vascular, and pediatric cardiac).
Sonography Principles and Instrumentation Exam (SPI)
The SPI exam measures the basic knowledge of the sonographer on fundamental principles used in the profession. Before the sonographer can take the specialty credentialing exams, he or she first has to take the SPI exam. Topics covered by the exam are basic physical principles and instrumentation knowledge that professionals and students should know. Here are a few facts about taking the SPI exam:
- Sonographers are required to pass both the SPI exam and the specialty exam within five years of each other.
- The SPI exam has to be taken only once, not before every specialization exam.
- If the sonographer has a valid certificate and needs to take a new specialty exam to keep his credentials valid, he or she is not required to take the SPI exam again.
The ARDMS SPI Practice Examination
The ARDMS offers a practice exam to sonographers who are scheduled to take the SPI exam. There are two versions: SPIa and SPIb. Each of the exams is 30 minutes long and has 30 questions; the two are completely different from each other. You can take the exam more than once but the questions will remain the same (for each kind). After you finish the exam, your result will be shown in a report, identifying which questions were answered correctly and which ones were not. These exams are not free, and cost $25 each.