Cross-Training Complete Course

If you are looking for a complete DMS program of study for yourself or an employee it is highly recommended you consider IUD’s CAAHEP accredited One-Year program. Even for those who do meet the requirements for the Cross-training Complete course. 90% or more applicants will be best served by the One Year program. The One-Year Program contains all didactic and clinical material needed to meet the requirements for the ARDMS registry exams for the specialties of Abdomen, OB/GYN, and SPI.

However, in very specific situations, IUD now offers the IUD Cross-Training Complete Course.

IUD’s Cross-training Complete Course is designed for employers to be able to cross-train quality employees from other radiologic and/or imaging modalities (X-Ray, CT, MRI, Etc.) into Diagnostic Medical Sonography.

The Cross-training Complete course is up to 12 months in duration and provides all of the didactic material needed for Registry preparation in Abdominal and OB/GYN ultrasound as well as SPI. The course also provides the employer the flexibility desired for providing clinical cross-training around a full time work schedule.

Included in the Cross-training Complete course is our traditional in-person 3 week Sonography “Boot Camp” as well as all didactic materials (lectures, study questions, tests) covering Abdomen (normal and pathology), OB/GYN (normal and pathology), Small parts (normal and pathology), and SPI registry exams.

Each Cross-Training Complete attendee will attend our in-person 3 week Sonography boot camp. During that time attendees will learn to identify and scan sonographic landmarks and normal abdominal and pelvic anatomy. All students will have the option to stay for an additional 4^th week of scan labs, if they choose, at no extra cost.

Once the Sonography boot camp concludes, attendees will return home and have online access to a complete general sonography curriculum for the next 11 months. IUD will provide a detailed schedule for working through all of the material in the remaining 11 months in preparation for taking ARDMS Registry exams (AB, OB/GYN, SPI, Breast). While IUD provides a suggested detailed curriculum outline, all course content is open and can be completed in any desired order as the attendee and employer see fit.

All course work is graded and school instructors are available for answering questions and providing additional explanations for topics covered.

Clinical hours, rotations, and competencies are at the sole discretion and judgement of the employer. IUD staff is available to review and provide feedback on an attendee’s clinical performance via scan/study review at the request of the employer. IUD strongly encourages all employers to follow the ARDMS guidelines and requirements for proper clinical experience as required under the Registry exam pre-requisites. Employers can require their employee who are participating in the Cross-Training Complete course to sign up for an account in Trajecsys* (clinical management system) at employer/attendee’s expense to track clinical hours and exam types.

CME credits are provided for attendees for Abdomen, OB/GYN, and SPI.

It is important to note, that these short-term courses are not stand alone courses, they do not fall under IUD’s CAAHEP accreditation, and after completion, students will still need at least 12 months of clinical training under a registered sonographer and considerable self-study before being able to sit for any registry exams through ARDMS.

For more information please contact Micah Gill at mgill@iudmed.com or 251-621-8668 ext 3.

About the 3 Week Sonography Boot Camp

The 3 Week Sonography Boot Camp is designed as the jump start into Sonography Cross-training and focuses on normal anatomy of the abdomen, female pelvis and 1^st – 3^rd trimester fetus as well as sonography physics and instrumentation. Attendees will learn to recognize and scan normal anatomy, only. The attendee should be able to return home with basic skills on which to build, making instruction easier for employers supervising the cross-training process.

The 3 Week Boot Camp will cover didactics in Abdominal, Physics/Instrumentation, and OB/GYN sonography.  “Hands on” scanning labs and didactics will be limited to normal anatomy for Abdomen and GYN and multiple scan labs will be available each day and each week.  Labs for OB scanning will be available upon request at an additional fee.  All scan labs are “one on one” with direct instructor supervision.  This portion of the course serves as a basic introduction to diagnostic ultrasound and is a jump start into clinicals for the cross-training employee. CME certificates for each week will be awarded upon completion.

 Week 1 – Abdomen Week (23 CME credits):

Abdomen week directly emphasizes normal sonographic appearances, clinical correlations, and a working knowledge of the structures of the abdomen.

Abdominal structures covered include:

Vessels and landmarks

Liver

Gallbladder and biliary system

Renal

Pancreas

Spleen

During this week we go into more in depth abdominal scanning during our one on one scan labs.  Each scanning session is tailored to the need of each individual student to meet their specific requirements.   Students are able to better understand and apply what they have learned didactically.

Week 2 – Physics/Instrumentation Week (22.75 CME credits): 

During this week we provide a great foundation and operational knowledge of medical ultrasound.  We present and emphasize the importance of understanding the physical principals and instrumentation of sonography and relate it to issues in the clinical setting of today.

Topics covered include but are not limited to:

Basic ultrasound wave concepts and characteristics

Acoustic properties of tissue and attenuation of sound in the body

Pulsed wave operation and parameters of basic ultrasound systems

A working knowledge of transducers and the characteristics of the ultrasound beam

The fundamentals of an ultrasound system, display and storage

We continue the emphasis on abdominal vasculature, landmarks, and techniques in abdominal scanning which is applied during instructor led scan labs.

Week 3 – OB/GYN Week 19.5 CME credits):

During the third week the normal female pelvis and obstetrical anatomy is covered.

Topics include but are not limited to:

Normal uterine and adnexal structures

Uterine and adnexal variants

Normal 1^st Trimester obstetrical examination and evaluation

Normal 2^nd and 3^rd trimester appearances, correlation, and biometric calculation

Transvaginal scanning technique and assessment of the female pelvis.

During this week each scan lab will be limited to transabdominal scanning techniques of the female pelvis.  2^nd and 3^rd trimester one hour dedicated scanning sessions are available upon request at an additional fee.

Week 4 – Additional Scan labs (optional, no extra cost)

An additional week of scan labs is available at no extra cost. In this 4^th week of scanning attendees continue to practice and learn different study protocols during timed sessions and then will review their scans with an instructor in preparation for clinical practice. This week is encouraged but not required and is provided at no additional cost.

After the 3 week Sonography boot camp is completed, employees will return home and will have access to all of the other didactic material online for the next 11 months.