The American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS)

The American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS), incorporated in June 1975, is an independent, nonprofit organization that administers examinations and awards credentials in the areas of diagnostic medical sonography, diagnostic cardiac sonography, vascular interpretation and vascular technology.

ARDMS has certified more than 65,000 individuals.

ARDMS offers these credentials:

Credentials awarded by ARDMS include:

• RDMS: Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer
  Diagnostic Medical Sonography
  Diagnostic Medical Sonography is the name for the profession practised by diagnostic medical sonographers . Diagnostic medical sonography, a branch of diagnostic medical imaging, uses non-ionizing ultrasound to produce 2D and 3D images of the body...
  
  

Specialty areas: Abdomen

Abdomen

In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...

, Breast

Breast

The breast is the upper ventral region of the torso of a primate, in left and right sides, which in a female contains the mammary gland that secretes milk used to feed infants.Both men and women develop breasts from the same embryological tissues...

, Neurosonology, Obstetrics

Obstetrics

Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...

 and Gynecology, and Fetal Echocardiography

Echocardiography

An echocardiogram, often referred to in the medical community as a cardiac ECHO or simply an ECHO, is a sonogram of the heart . Also known as a cardiac ultrasound, it uses standard ultrasound techniques to image two-dimensional slices of the heart...

• RDCS: Registered Diagnostic Cardiac
  Heart
  The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...
  
   Sonographer
  Medical ultrasonography
  Diagnostic sonography is an ultrasound-based diagnostic imaging technique used for visualizing subcutaneous body structures including tendons, muscles, joints, vessels and internal organs for possible pathology or lesions...
  
  

Specialty areas: Adult, Pediatric and Fetal Echocardiography

• RVT: Registered Vascular
  Blood vessel
  The blood vessels are the part of the circulatory system that transports blood throughout the body. There are three major types of blood vessels: the arteries, which carry the blood away from the heart; the capillaries, which enable the actual exchange of water and chemicals between the blood and...
  
   Technologist

Specialty area: Noninvasive Vascular Technology

• RPVI: Registered Physician in Vascular Interpretation

Specialty area: Vascular Ultrasound Interpretation

ARDMS has earned the prestigious ANSI-ISO 17024 accreditation for certifying bodies from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Accreditation is granted through the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). ARDMS credentials serve to document personal achievement of recognized professional standards.

ARDMS credentials document personal achievement of recognized professional standards. However, ARDMS does not warrant the day-to-day job performance

Job performance

Job performance is a commonly used, yet poorly defined concept in industrial and organizational psychology, the branch of psychology that deals with the workplace. It's also part of Human Resources Management. It most commonly refers to whether a person performs their job well...

 of individuals.

Credentials awarded by ARDMS are widely accepted in the medical community by sonographic and vascular professional organizations, including:

American College of Radiology

American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine

American Society of Echocardiography

Canadian Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers

Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography

Society for Vascular Ultrasound

ARDMS is governed by a board of directors composed of sonographers, vascular technologists, physicians, research scientists and a public member. The board creates the policies and defines the direction; the EDTFs conduct continuous evaluations of the material contained in our examinations.

The examinations are developed by subject matter experts who sit on Exam Development Task Forces (EDTFs). The EDTFs survey job functions and practices in various specialties and develop test questions based upon a blueprint of job tasks in sonography. EDTFs are composed of sonographers, vascular technologists, physicians, and scientists. The members of each EDTF are knowledgeable in the subject area of the particular examination.

The only means of obtaining an ARDMS credential is by examination. Required examination prerequisites must be met before an applicant can take an ARDMS examination. Applicants are then required to pass two comprehensive examinations to earn a credential: (1) the Sonography Principles and Instrumentation (SPI) examination, and (2) at least one corresponding specialty examination. Applicants for the RPVI credential must successfully complete a four-hour examination, which contains distinct content on physical principles and a variety of relevant clinical areas of practice.

As an emerging global organization, ARDMS examinations are also being delivered in Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, and Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

. Future sites for ARDMS examination delivery will be focused in South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 and South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

.