Registered Physicians’ Vascular Interpretation (RPVI) is a certification exam developed and administered by American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS) for credentialing of standards in vascular ultrasound interpretation. This certification meets the criteria set for Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Vascular Laboratories (ICAVL) accreditation process.
Eligibility-
The exam is taken by physicians who want to document their skills of recognizing vascular diseases and expertise in vascular sonography interpretation. The applicant must be holding MD or DO degree in United States or Canada and satisfies other prerequisites. If this educational requirement is fulfilled, one can register for this test.
Test Overview-
RPVI is breakdown into following content areas- Instrumentation and ultrasound physics (12-18% of test), Intracranial cerebrovascular (1-4% of test), Extracranial cerebrovascular (22-28% of test), Peripheral venous – upper and lower extremity (17-23% of test), Visceral vascular (7-13% of test), Peripheral arterial – upper and lower extremity (12-18% of test), Special testing (5-11% of test) and Quality assurance and ultrasound safety (2-8% of test). In the “Instrumentation and ultrasound physics” section, topics covered are Doppler equation, color/power Doppler, continuous-wave/pulsed wave Doppler, spectral waveform analysis, artifacts and B-mode imaging. The “Intracranial cerebrovascular” section is based on transcranial doppler. The subjects covered in “Extracranial cerebrovascular” section are carotid/vertebral and brachiocephalic vessels. The questions in “Peripheral venous – upper and lower extremity” section are based on physiologic testing (plethysmography) and duplex imaging. The questions in “Visceral vascular” section are related to aorta, hepatic/portal, liver/kidney transplants, and mesenteric/renal. The “Peripheral arterial – upper and lower extremity” section deals with subjects like physiologic testing (segmental pressures/plethysmography) and duplex imaging. The “Special testing” section includes topics- aortic endografts, dialysis grafts, graft surveillance and intraoperative assessment. Test validation and bioeffects of ultrasound are dealt in “Quality assurance and ultrasound safety” section.
Test Format-
It is an objective test consisting of 200 multiple choice questions. The time given for completing RPVI test is 4 hours.
Marking Scheme-
The result of exam is a scaled score lying between 300 and 700. The passing score is 555 or higher. RPVI exam is a criterion referenced test, so the candidates are evaluated against a set standard, rather than performance of other examinees. There can be some unscored items in the test, which are placed to collect statistical data for future administration of this exam. These unscored questions are indistinguishable.
Schedule-
The registrations are done online at the official website of ARDMS (www.ardms.org/apply). The applicant needs to get printed online application summary, which includes a list of required documents, payment information and notification of last date for submission. ARDMS verifies documents and replies eligible applicants through email from two weeks of receiving the documents. Then, a website address and toll free number are provided by which exam can be scheduled within 90 days eligibility period. The ineligible candidates are notified about their ineligibility and returned fees paid with deduction of $100 processing fee.
Exam Fees-
RPVI test fee is $500 USD. It includes a non-refundable processing fee of $100 USD. There is a charge of $50 USD for international testing.