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SONOCREDITS November 17, 2000 – – – A new Internet based company that offers ultrasound educational material online for free has just been launched. The main goal behind this website is education. The articles are written by experts in the field and cover a wide range of topics. The authors come from major institutions including Tulane, the University of Kentucky, the University of California, USC, Washington University in St. Louis Missouri, the University of Kansas and Stanford. If CME credits are desired, these can be obtained for a small fee ($10.00) if a short examination is taken and a passing score is received. They can receive a certificate that confirms their credit and again, they only pay if they pass. There is no need to log in or register because access to the articles and the examination is free. This website is very easy to use and allows sonographers the ability to obtain their necessary credits at a time that is convenient to their schedule. SDMS credits are approved by the ARDMS and the ARRT. All of the articles have been copyrighted and have been SDMS approved. The Editor is a double-boarded physician who has been involved in research and teaching for over 15 years. Of interest, the articles for this website are not individually selected. Instead, the authors are identified and are asked to submit something for which they have a passion. This method better insures good quality material. Obtaining CME credits is a requirement for maintaining ARDMS certification and / or ARRT certification. Currently, the majority of these credits are accumulated by attending meetings, lectures, or courses. Finding the time to attend one of these venues often becomes a burden. In order to decrease time away from work, many of these lectures occur on weekends; however, this results in time away from the family. Likewise, if the course occurs during the week or is out of town, then the sonographer is taken away from their place of employment, which results in scheduling burdens to cover their absence. If sonographers do not obtain their necessary number of credits, there are consequences. For the ARDMS, as of December 31, 2000, if the 30 CME credits are not obtained in a sonographer’s 3-year cycle (or triennium), they will have 120 days to document compliance. If not completed, they will lose their registrant status and this can only be re-established by retaking the appropriate physical principles/instrumentation examination and the specialty area examination. For the ARRT, 24 credits are required every 2 years (biennium). If these are not obtained, they are penalized by the number of credits that are lacking plus 12 additional credits. These penalty credits will need to be documented in the next 12-month period and cannot be applied to the 24 credits that will be due for their next biennium period. For example, if a given tech only has 20 credits by the end of their biennium, they will need to obtain the 4 missing credits plus a penalty of 12 more for a total of 16 that will be due in 12 months. If these are collected, they will still need 24 more additional credits for their next biennium. If the penalty credits are not documented during the 12-month probation period, then their ARRT registration status will be lost and can only be re-established again by retaking the appropriate examinations. In summary, obtaining the required CME credits has never been easier. Education is something that should be supplied by experts in the field, should be easy to access, and be affordable to everyone who is interested. Therefore, the educational material supplied on this website will always be free to anyone who desires the knowledge. It is our hope that this Internet site will be helpful to those sonographers and technicians who find it difficult to leave work in order to obtain credits to maintain their credentials.
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