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Thank you for taking this pivotal step toward your professional growth in medical imaging. Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions.

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Roadmap Summary

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Specialty Exam Recommendation: Discover Your Path to Excellence in Abdomen Imaging

Based on your survey answers, we recommend the ARDMS Abdomen (AB) Specialty Exam as the next step in your professional journey. This certification is designed to enhance your expertise in abdominal imaging, align with your career goals, and establish your reputation as a trusted provider in diagnostic medical imaging.

Earning this credential demonstrates your commitment to excellence and ensures you have the skills and knowledge necessary to deliver the highest standard of care to your patients. By achieving this certification, you join a distinguished community of professionals recognized for their proficiency and dedication to advancing abdominal imaging.

Start your journey today and take the next step in becoming a leader in abdominal ultrasound diagnostics.

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Abdomen (AB)

You can now take the AB examination online from home, at any time of the year. Learn More! 

The Abdomen (AB) examination tests the requisite abdomen knowledge, skills, and abilities essential to Sonography Professionals. If you are a physician interested in applying for the RDMS credential with an AB specialty, please visit the website for ARDMS’s physician-centric companion Council, the Alliance for Physician Certification & Advancement (APCA).

To earn a Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer (RDMS) credential with an AB specialty, you must pass the Sonography Principles & Instrumentation (SPI) examination and the AB examination within five years. After passing the SPI examination, you can earn additional credentials without having to retake the SPI examination, provided you maintain active status.

You must wait 60 days before you can retake the AB examination if you do not pass it however, you are welcome to reapply after 3 days.

AB Examination Review

The AB examination assesses the knowledge, skills and abilities in the areas of soft tissues, blood vessels and organs of the abdominal cavities.

We periodically conduct an AB Job Task  Analysis (JTA) and update the AB examination to reflect the frequency and importance of AB tasks being performed by Sonography Professionals. The latest AB JTA was conducted in 2017.

Click to view the 2017-2018 AB JTA Results.

All questions on the Abdomen (AB) examination will fall under the domains and subdomains listed in the AB content outline. It is essential that you review the AB Content Outline to understand what will be covered in the examination.

Question Format & Duration

The Abdomen (AB) examination is three hours, including a five-minute survey, and contains approximately 165 multiple-choice questions, which include hotspot questions. The hotspot questions are Advanced Item Type ​questions that assess and measure your practical sonography skills.

To earn a Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer (RDMS) credential with an AB specialty, you must pass the Sonography Principles & Instrumentation (SPI) examination and the AB examination within five years.

After passing the SPI examination, you can earn additional credentials without having to retake the SPI examination, provided you maintain active status.

Impartiality

​ARDMS functions under policies intended to demonstrate impartiality, high ethical standards, and validity of its certification assessments. ARDMS does not restrict Applicants, Candidates, or becoming a Registrant based on limiting conditions, such as membership of an association or professional society of any organization. ARDMS will not unfairly impede or inhibit access to its certification to Applicants, Candidates or Registrants who meet our stated policies regarding qualification requirements, renewal requirements and/or passing ARDMS’ psychometrically sound certification assessments.

Five-Year Rule

To earn an RDMS, RDCS, RVT or RMSKS credential, you must pass the SPI examination and a corresponding specialty examination within five years, regardless of sequence. This five-year rule does not apply if you are seeking additional specialties under a credential already earned. If you do not complete both examinations within the five-year period, you must retake the examination previously passed.

The five-year rule is based on the calendar year (January 1 through December 31). The five-year period begins the day you pass the first examination, and it includes any time that remains in that year plus the next five years. For example, a candidate who passed the first ARDMS examination on June 6, 2010, is required to pass the second examination by December 31, 2015.

Re-Applicant

You will be considered a Re-applicant for the AB examination:

1. If you were previously approved to sit for any of the following sonographer-level specialty examinations:

  • Abdomen (AB)
  • Adult Echocardiology (AE)
  • Breast (BR)
  • Fetal Echocardiography (FE)
  • Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN)
  • Pediatric Echocardiography (PE)
  • Pediatric Sonography (PS)
  • Vascular Technology (VT)

2. If you were previously approved to sit for the SPI examination under a prerequisite (excludes approval of the SPI examination under the SPI Examination Requirement).

Applying as Re-applicant

  • If you have a current AB Clinical Verification (CV) Form on file, you will need to submit the application and examination fee only. The application will automatically be approved and you will be able to schedule within a day.
  • If you do not have a current AB CV Form on file, you will need to submit the application, the examination fee and a current AB CV Form. To access your active CV Forms, please log into MY ARDMS/MY APCA and click on “Clinical Verification Form” under “Application Center.”

You must wait 60 days before you can retake the AB examination if you do not pass it however, you are welcome to reapply after 3 days.

Prerequisites

AB Requirements

To sit for the AB examination and earn the RDMS credential, First-Time Applicants must select a prerequisite that best meets your education and clinical experience.

Physicians can now apply under the new ARDMS physician prerequisite. Learn more!

Click to view the ARDMS General Prerequisites

Prerequisite Prep Tool

To earn an ARDMS credential, Applicants must choose and meet the requirements of a prerequisite. Review the Prerequisite Prep tool to help guide you through the prerequisite selection process and to select a prerequisite that best meets your education and clinical ultrasound experience.

Re-Applicant – A re-applicant is a Candidate or Registrant who has previously applied and been approved by ARDMS to take or has taken an ARDMS examination and who is applying to take another examination; this does not include an individual who has only been approved for MSKS, MW examinations and approval of the Sonography Principles & Instrumentation (SPI) examination under the SPI Examination Requirement Pathway. Re-applicants should apply as such and thus this guide isn’t necessary for you.

Re-Applicant Information

You will be considered a Re-applicant for the AB examination:

  • If you were previously approved to sit for any of the following Sonographer-level specialty examinations:
    1. Abdomen (AB)
    2. Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN)
    3. Breast (BR)
    4. Fetal Echocardiography (FE)
    5. Pediatric Sonography (PS)
    6. Adult Echocardiography (AE)
    7. Pediatric Echocardiography (PE)
    8. Vascular Technology (VT)​
  • ​If you were previously approved to sit for the SPI examination under a prerequisite (excludes approval of the SPI examination under the SPI Examination Requirement)

Applying as a Re-applicant:

  • If you have a current AB Clinical Verification (CV) Form on file, you will need to submit the application and examination fee only. The application will automatically be approved and you will be able to schedule within a day.
  • If you do not have a current AB CV Form on file, you will need to submit the application, the examination fee and a current AB CV Form. To access your active CV Forms, please log into MY ARDMS/MY APCA and click on “Clinical Verification Form” under “Application Center.”

You must wait 60 days before you can retake the AB examination if you do not pass it however, you are welcome to reapply after 3 days.

100% Online Assessment

Self-paced on demand, and available online anytime to best fit your schedule.

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You’ll receive a certificate of completion upon passing the assessment.

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1

Application Process

Once you are ready to apply for an ARDMS examination, follow the steps below:

  • Log in to MY ARDMS/MY APCA and choose the “Apply Online” option.
  • Complete the online application form and submit payment. If you are a first-time applicant, you are required to choose a general prerequisite under which to apply.
  • Gather your supporting documentation and submit at time of application
  • To upload your documentation to your MY ARDMS/MY APCA account, click the “My Resources” tab, then “Upload Documents”. For “File Type” select “Application Documents”

For more details, please view the ARDMS How to Apply Guide. For a copy of this guide, complete the How to Apply Guide Request.

Once we have reviewed your information, we will email you with either an Examination Confirmation Letter (ECL) or a request for additional documentation. When you receive the ECL, you may contact Pearson VUE to schedule an examination appointment during your 90-day eligibility period.

If you are found ineligible to take the examination, your application will be partially refunded (less the $100 USD processing fee per examination).

2

Document Requirements

The required supporting documents depend on your chosen prerequisite and must be submitted online with your application.

Please note: We do not review application documentation received prior to receipt and payment of the online application.

Application Letter Requirements

When applying for the examination, if your prerequisite selection requires documentation of clinical experience, please note the following:

  • All letters must be printed on the official institution/employer letterhead and include the institution/company name, address, and telephone number as shown in the sample letters.
  • All letters must be dated.
  • Employer Letters must specify whether the experience was obtained on a full-time or part-time basis and should include the total number of paid clinical hours as indicated in the sample letters.
  • Program Completion Letters must include the total number of hours in the program and should separately state the number of didactic and clinical hours in the program as indicated in the sample letters.
  • All letters must clearly state the start and end dates of employment or program in mm/dd/yyyy format.
  • All letters must specify the specialties in which the experience was obtained.
  • All letters must include a hand-written signature. Stamped and/or computer-generated signatures will not be accepted.
  • Include the ARDMS/APCA number or physician license number in the signature as indicated in the sample letters.

Sample Letters

CV Forms

    3

    Report a Compliance Violation

    Do you have an unreported compliance violation? The examination application will ask you to attest to being compliant with the ARDMS Compliance Policies. If you are unsure if you have a compliance violation or if you have a violation to report, please take a moment to watch the short informational video for guidance. For additional assistance please contact [email protected].

      4

      International Degrees

      Degrees earned internationally must be evaluated prior to selecting a prerequisite. We require a course by course evaluation. Click here for a complete list of Evaluation Agencies for International Degrees.

      If the applicant has taken and passed all three parts of and earned the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG®) certification, a copy of the ECFMG® certificate may be submitted with a copy of current, valid MD or DO license from the U.S. or Canada in lieu of the evaluation.

      5

      Application Checklist

      The examination checklist is a helpful, online tool that lets you track the status of your submitted application. To view it, log into MY ARDMS/MY APCA and visit the “Application Checklist” from the “Application Center” drop down menu.

      Once we have reviewed your documentation, you can find out what documentation we accepted and what additional documentation we may still need by selecting “View Checklist.” If “View Checklist” is not available, it simply means we have not yet reviewed your documentation.

      You can also use the following form to ensure that you are submitting all the required documentation:

        6

        Examination Confirmation Letter

        If you are found eligible to take an examination, we will email you an Examination Confirmation Letter (ECL) within one to two days of application approval and you will be able to schedule your appointment at that time. The ECL will also be posted to your MY ARDMS/MY APCA  account and will include your eligibility period to schedule and take your examination.

        7

        Americans With Disabilities Act

        If you need special accommodations, please select “Yes” for “Special Accommodations” in the application and submit the following along with your completed application:

        • An original copy of a letter dated within the past five years and typed on official letterhead
          from a qualified physician or health care provider who specializes in the disability. This letter
          must document the disability and its severity, describe the applicant’s limitation due to the
          disability and state exactly what accommodations are recommended. The letter must contain
          an original signature and the physician’s or provider’s credentials.
        • An original copy of a comprehensive medical evaluation/report of the diagnosed disability
          from the physician or health care provider, dated within the past five years.
        • A completed ADA Special Accomodations Questionnaire, which must be submitted each
          time you apply for an examination.

        For more information, visit Americans with Disabilities Act.