Show Your Expertise with our Advanced POCUS Certifications

Demonstrate your advanced knowledge of point-of-care ultrasound! More than 20 different POCUS Clinical and Specialty Certifications have been designed to assess your in-depth knowledge of an individual clinical area or of a set group of clinical areas related to a medical specialty. Choose the ones that best reflect your personal POCUS expertise.

This offering does not include continuing medical education (CME) credits.

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POCUS Clinical & Specialty Certifications

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

We developed the POCUS Clinical and Specialty Certifications for POCUS practitioners to document their clinical proficiency. Each Clinical Certification is comprised of two components: a clinical case-based assessment and peer evaluation. Each Specialty Certification is comprised of three components: a clinical case-based assessment, peer evaluation and video submissions.

Upon earning a POCUS Clinical or Specialty Certification, you will have demonstrated, for a specific clinical area or set group of clinical areas, proficiency in:

Standard POCUS views
Recognition and identification of anatomical features
Recognition and identification of common sonographic artifacts or measurements that may aid in diagnosis
Determination of diagnostic findings
Recognition and identification of common pathologies
Understanding when a diagnosis is not possible

Browse Clinical and Specialty Certifications

CLINICAL CASE-BASED ASSESSMENT

Clinical scenarios are presented in audio and/or video formats (with closed-captioning and written scripts). Ultrasound media and assessment questions are presented at key points during the patient encounter. Questions are designed to assess the following (as appropriate for the selected clinical area):

Familiarity with normal exploration paths
Recognition of when patient condition or presentation requires deviations from the normal exploration paths
Identification of regions or basic POCUS views described in consensus documents or protocols
Ability to recognize and identify various anatomical features in M-mode and 2D images
Knowledge of common sonographic artifacts or measurements
Ability to identify artifacts that may aid in diagnosis
Recognition of sonographic patterns and their implications for diagnosis
Knowledge of common pathologies and conditions identified through POCUS
Ability to comprehensively consider all case information (POCUS images, patient presentation, labs, etc.) to determine an initial diagnosis

Check out the applicable POCUS Clinical Assessment Content Outline for more detailed information.

Watch this Clinical Case Assessment tutorial:

PEER EVALUATIONS

A peer evaluation is a short questionnaire that is completed by a healthcare provider who has a background in ultrasound and who is familiar with your ability to obtain clinically-relevant, content-specific POCUS images. Two (2) peer evaluations are required. If more peer evaluations are submitted, the first two will be used to determine your score.

We will contact the healthcare providers directly using the names and emails addresses you supply – please ensure that they consent to being contacted by POCUS Certification Academy. They will be asked to provide feedback on the following criteria as applicable to the area(s) of clinical focus:

Your ability to obtain images of diagnostic quality
Your use and/or understanding of gain
Your use and/or understanding of depth
Your transducer placement
Your use and/or understanding of measurement techniques
Your use of appropriate compression
Your use and/or understanding of M-Mode, Color Doppler and/or Power Doppler
Your overall experience with the chosen clinical area

Peer evaluator responses will be kept confidential. Peer evaluations must be completed within the timeframe set by the certification you are pursuing.

CLINICAL CASE VIDEO SUBMISSIONS

Video submissions are designed to assess your practical abilities in POCUS. For specialty certifications (not for clinical certifications), you will submit two videos per clinical area: one without pathology, and one with identified pathology. All videos must be HIPAA compliant, .mp4 formatted, and 5 – 60 seconds long. All submissions will be evaluated by clinical reviewers based on POCUS-specific criteria. Submissions must be received and evaluated within the 180 days. Each submission will be evaluated with a pass or comments for re-submission. Some clinical areas require a still image with a measurement component.

For detailed information about all certification options, download our Certificate and Certification Guide.

Prerequisites

Successful completion of the POCUS Fundamentals Certificate or meeting waiver requirements
Must be a health care professional in good standing and actively practicing in the relevant clinical area(s)
Attestation to the performance of and participation in the interpretation of 15-30 cases in the relevant clinical area(s). The number of required cases depends on the clinical area(s)

Preparation Materials

Learners looking for training opportunities may want to consider exploring on-line and in-person courses offered by our partnering POCUS education providers. You may also want to check out our many knowledge checks and our learning library.

Clinical Faculty

Victor Rao, MBBS, DMRD, RDMS
Global Clinical Content Manager at Inteleos

Dr. Rao is a radiologist by training and helped to introduce and develop POCUS curriculum at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in Columbia. He is the former director of ultrasound education at University of South Carolina School of Medicine and now works at Inteleos as the Global Clinical Content Manager. Dr. Rao has also worked as a primary care physician in mission hospitals overseas where he enjoyed seeing patients in the clinic, managed inpatients, performed deliveries, C-sections, and minor surgeries.

System Requirements

To access the Point-of-Care Ultrasound Certification Academy content, a computer (Mac or PC) or tablet (Android or iPad) with a common browser will be required. Headphones or speakers are recommended, and a reliable internet connection is necessary.

Technical Specifications
Operating System	Windows 10 or newer, Windows 8.1 (32-bit and 64-bit), Windows 7 SP1 (32-bit and 64-bit), Mac OSX 10.10 or newer
Display	Minimum resolution: 1024 x 768 in 16-bit color
Network Connection	The Point-of-Care Ultrasound Certification Academy suggests that, whenever possible, exams are completed using a wired network. Wired networks typically provide more reliable exam delivery performance than wireless networks.
Internet Connection	Broadband (DSL, cable or LAN/WAN): 512 kbps up/down
Internet Browsers	Latest versions of Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Firefox, or Safari
Browser Settings	Internet cookies must be enabled. All pop-up blockers must be disabled.
Sound	Headphones or speakers, if in a private location, are acceptable. Note: Closed captioning is also provided.
Testing Environment	A quiet test taking environment is recommended. Exams include audio and video components. Appropriate lighting and minimal distractions will improve the experience.

Troubleshooting Technical Difficulties

If you’re experiencing technical difficulties, please try the following:

• Clear internet cache
• Make sure you have a strong internet connect, using VPN if needed
• Make sure you are using Google Chrome
• All pop-up blockers are disabled
• Enable internet cookies
• Make sure the following site is a trusted site: lms12.learnshare.com (some devices have firewalls that prevent the webpage from loading)

If the steps above do not resolve the issue, please contact us at pocus@inteleos.org.

Fee Information & Refund/Cancellation Policy

The fees range from $150 for POCUS Clinical Certifications to $350 – $625 for POCUS Specialty Certifications. These offerings do not include continuing medical education (CME) credits.

Requests for cancellations or refunds may be submitted until a candidate starts an assessment. Neither full nor partial refunds will be issued for any Certification that has been started or for which the completion time has been exhausted. All refunds will be processed in the same form as the original payment within five (5) business days.

Timeframe and Unsuccessful Attempts

For POCUS Clinical Certifications, you will be given ninety (90) days from the date of purchase to complete the clinical case assessments and peer evaluations
For POCUS Specialty Certifications, you will be given one hundred eighty (180) days from the date of purchase to complete the clinical case assessments, peer evaluations and video submissions
If the result is unsuccessful, you may reapply after waiting thirty (30) days. The full certificate/certification fee is required with each reapplication

Renewal

POCUS Clinical and Specialty Certifications are valid for 5 (five) years. Requirements for renewal are described in the Maintenance of Certification overview.

Disclosure of Unlabeled Use

This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA. Inteleos does not recommend the use of any agent outside of the labeled indications.

The opinions expressed in the educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of any organization associated with this activity. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

Disclaimer

Participants have an implied responsibility to use the newly acquired information to enhance patient outcomes and their own professional development. The information presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of patient conditions and possible contraindications on dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer’s product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities.