URGENT CALL FOR ACTION

The SDMS Board of Directors URGES you and your colleagues to take immediate action and respond to the ARDMS' questionnaire on Prerequisite 2 by March 31.

The SDMS Board believes that if Prerequisite 2 is changed, it would undermine 20 years worth of effort to establish appropriate educational standards for the sonography profession.

Background Information

The ARDMS' Certification Committee has distributed a questionnaire to solicit comment from the community on Prerequisite 2.

Prerequisite 2 is one of the eligibility pathways for candidates to take ARDMS certification examinations. The Certification Committee is evaluating whether Prerequisite 2 should be retained in its current form or revised. The Certification Committee will make recommendations to the ARDMS Board.

The current Prerequisite 2 language is available at:

  http://www.ardms.org/applicants/prerequisitechart.pdf

SDMS Board of Directors Position Statement

SDMS Board of Directors supports the current language of ARDMS' Prerequisite 2 which can be fulfilled by demonstrating that the applicant has completed one of the following: "CAAHEP-approved (Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs) or CMA-approved (Canadian Medical Association) ultrasound/vascular technology education program."

SDMS Board of Directors supports the following principles regarding the recognition of agencies granting accreditation to diagnostic medical sonography/diagnostic cardiac sonography/vascular technology programs in the U.S. and Canada:

• An accrediting body recognized by the ARDMS within Prerequisite 2 should be recognized and accepted by the sonography community at large.
• Programmatic accreditation should be accomplished through a peer review process. Essential strategies have been incorporated into a minimum standard by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Diagnostic Medical Sonography (JRC-DMS) through the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). This standard has been reviewed and adopted by organizations including the ACC, ACR, AIUM, ASE, ASRT, CAAHEP, SDMS, SVU, and SVS.
• Institutional accreditation focuses on financial, administrative, and operational issues. Institutional accreditation cannot guarantee reasonable benefit to those who apply to programs seeking specific occupational competencies required for post graduation employment.
• The sonography education program must be accountable to the accreditor for process and outcome measures and document the desired goal of graduating competent sonographers.
• There should be accountability for accrediting processes through the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or U.S. Department of Education (USDE).
• Programmatic accreditation standards should be derived through input from physicians and sonographers and supported by organizations that have expertise specifically in sonography.
• Minimum standards must insure integration of clinical and didactic education.
• Minimum educational standards are determined by consensus among professional organizations with a history and interest in sonography education.

To view the SDMS Board's complete response to the ARDMS questionnaire, click here.

CALL TO ACTION: HOW TO VOICE YOUR COMMENTS

You are not required to use this template. However, your comments will not be accepted by the ARDMS unless you submit them in the format they have specified. For additional information, please refer to: http://www.ardms.org/aboutardms/Prereq2Comments.pdf

If you want your voice to be heard, please follow the directions below:

1. Read the questionnaire at: http://www.ardms.org/aboutardms/Prereq2Comments.pdf
2. Prepare your comments using the Word template or following the format specified by the ARDMS. Comments MUST BE relevant to Prerequisite 2.
3. All comments must be received by the ARDMS NO LATER THAN MARCH 31, 2004. Mail your comments (ARDMS will not accept faxes or emails) in the format listed above to:

Prerequisite 2 Review
ARDMS
51 Monroe St
Plaza One East
Rockville, MD 20850

Resources

• Current Prerequisite 2 language
• ARDMS Questionaire on Prerequisite #2
• SDMS Template for Responding to ARDMS
• SDMS Discussion Forums - Educators (review member postings on this important subject or ask a question)
• SDMS Board of Directors Response to ARDMS
• Who's Who - Sonography Educational Program Accreditation