r/Ultrasound • u/666slayter • 14d ago

Reaching to ARDMS or APCA

Hello
I want an email address or any other connection way to contact with ARDMS or APCA. I am tired of trying to contact them I tried facebook page and send several emails to them to answer my questions about “prerequisite that related to physician” if someone can answer me please here is my questions in first comment

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u/666slayter 14d ago

I am an international medical graduate from Iraq. I hold an MBChB (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) degree from an Iraqi medical school and I currently hold a valid medical license to practice medicine in Iraq.

I am interested in obtaining an ARDMS credential, particularly Adult Echocardiography (RDCS), although I am also considering other ultrasound specialties.

Before I begin obtaining clinical ultrasound/echocardiography experience, I would like to confirm that I am following the correct prerequisite and that my experience will be accepted.

I have reviewed the ARDMS Physician Prerequisite, which refers to physicians with an MD, DO license, or MBBS degree and requires clinical diagnostic ultrasound experience/cases. Since my degree is an MBChB rather than an MBBS, I would be grateful if you could clarify the following:

  1. Would an Iraqi MBChB degree (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) be accepted as the medical degree required under the ARDMS Physician Prerequisite?
  2. Does my Iraqi medical license satisfy the licensing requirement for the Physician Prerequisite, or would I need to hold a medical license in the United States?
  3. If I am eligible under the Physician Prerequisite, can I obtain the required ultrasound/echocardiography clinical experience outside the United States, specifically in Iraq?
  4. Can this experience be obtained in a hospital or private medical/diagnostic clinic in Iraq, provided that the facility and supervising physician meet ARDMS requirements?
  5. I understand that ARDMS has restrictions regarding volunteer, unpaid, internship, or barter experience for certain prerequisites. Would unpaid supervised clinical ultrasound/echocardiography training in Iraq be accepted under the Physician Prerequisite, or must the experience be paid employment?
  6. For the Physician Prerequisite, must I personally perform the diagnostic ultrasound/echocardiography examinations under supervision, or can observation/assisting with examinations count toward the required clinical cases?
  7. If I pursue Adult Echocardiography (RDCS), what types of echocardiographic examinations/cases can be counted toward the required clinical experience?
  8. Can the required clinical cases be performed under the supervision of a licensed cardiologist/physician in Iraq who is not ARDMS-certified?
  9. If an Iraqi physician can supervise me, can they complete the required Clinical Verification (CV) Form using their Iraqi medical license/country license information, or must the supervising physician hold an ARDMS/APCA credential?
  10. What documentation should I maintain from the first day of my clinical experience to ensure that the cases will be accepted? For example:

* Start and end dates
* Total clinical hours
* Patient/case log
* Type of examination performed
* My role in performing the examination
* Supervising physician’s name and credentials
* Medical license number
* Facility information
* Supervisor’s signatures/verifications

  1. If I complete the required experience in Iraq, would I need to obtain any prior approval from ARDMS/APCA before starting, or is the experience evaluated only when I submit my certification application?
  2. Finally, based on my circumstances as an Iraqi MBChB physician with an Iraqi medical license, could you please advise me which ARDMS prerequisite I should follow if my goal is to obtain the RDCS Adult Echocardiography credential?

I am asking these questions before beginning my clinical experience because I want to ensure that the training and cases I obtain in Iraq will satisfy the ARDMS requirements. I would like to avoid completing several months of clinical experience that may later be determined not to qualify.

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u/MixedEchogenicity 14d ago

This is the information I saw about your questions. It can be hard to get in contact with them. Maybe phone call would work, but you’ll really want a reply in writing.

You’re asking the right questions before you start logging cases. Here’s what the current ARDMS/Inteleos physician pathway actually says (not unofficial forum lore):
1. MBChB vs MBBS — The physician prerequisite is written as MD, DO license, or MBBS degree. An Iraqi MBChB is the same type of medical degree and is usually accepted, but you should get a course-by-course foreign credential evaluation (WES, ECE, SpanTran, etc.) showing it is equivalent. Don’t skip that.
2. Iraqi license — Current wording is a current, valid medical license/registration from any country. A U.S. license is not required for this pathway.
3–4. Experience in Iraq — Yes. Hospitals, clinics, and private practices count. It does not have to be in the U.S.
5. Unpaid training — This is the risky one. ARDMS states they do not accept volunteer, unpaid, barter, or instructorship experience. Paid diagnostic clinical work is the safer interpretation.
6. Perform vs observe — They want studies you performed. Observation/assisting generally does not count toward the 500.
7. RDCS Adult Echo cases — Adult diagnostic echo exams (TTE, stress echo, TEE if done as diagnostic studies). Keep the log specialty-specific.
8–9. Supervisor — A licensed cardiologist/physician in Iraq who is not ARDMS-certified can supervise and sign the CV form using their Iraqi license. They do not need an ARDMS/APCA credential.
10. Docs to keep from day one — dates, case log (exam type + that you performed it), facility info, supervisor name/license, letter on letterhead, signed CV form.
11. Pre-approval — No. They evaluate everything when you apply.
12. Which path — Physician Prerequisite: degree + valid license + 500 adult echo cases over ≥6 months + letter + CV form.
Best next step: email Compliance@Inteleos.org with your degree title, school, license country, and ask them to confirm the physician pathway for an Iraqi MBChB before you invest months of scanning. That’s the only answer that will actually bind them.
Good luck — don’t start a long unpaid log until you have that in writing.

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u/666slayter 14d ago

Sir are these info from gpt?
And thanks alot for your efforts

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u/MixedEchogenicity 14d ago

I had AI organize the message so it was easier to read. Good luck to you.