Non-DVM abd Prereqs

Prerequisites for the Non-DVM Certification in abdominal ultrasound

CVT (Certified Veterinary Technician)/RVT (Registered Veterinary Technician)/LVT (Licensed Veterinary Technician) or other distinction based on the state, with license in good standing throughout the certification program
Non-United States equivalent to CVT (Certified Veterinary Technician)/RVT (Registered Veterinary Technician)/LVT (Licensed Veterinary Technician) with license in good standing throughout the certification program; each candidate’s qualifications will be reviewed by IVUSS for admission to the program.
Non-veterinarians that have a RDMS, RDCS, or equivalent with license in good standing throughout the program
Member in good standing of IVUSS for the duration of the program
At least 2 years of documentable experience in veterinary abdominal ultrasound with a minimum average caseload of 20 or more per month
Ultrasound system in the practice

5.0 to 7.5 MHz small footprint transducer (minimum requirement) with Color flow Doppler and Pulse Wave Doppler
Linear Probe

At least two didactic and laboratory courses in veterinary abdominal ultrasound must be completed prior to acceptance in the program (see below for content requirements). These courses are not provided by IVUSS but must be completed independently. Preapproval with the mentor or the certification committee can be helpful.

A normal dog and normal cat abdominal ultrasound, using the IVUSS Standard Abdominal Imaging Protocol, are required to be submitted after the initial application is approved, to be accepted into the program. The format for cases must show how you perform an abdominal ultrasound exam, and each candidate may use their own standard image acquisition protocol. The order of your standard image acquisition is not as important as obtaining all the required images.
Important: Cases that do not have a complete set of all images will be rejected. Consult with your mentor prior to case submission to make certain this requirement is fulfilled.
Dropbox access is required. Each candidate has their own folder, and this is how we transfer case reports.

Required Didactic and Laboratory Content:

Basic Abdomen

Instructor: ACVR diplomate or other expert as evidenced by both publication record and acknowledged teaching and technical expertise (can be preapproved by the Mentor/Certification Committee)
Alternative methods of covering the didactic material will be considered, including on-line course, which will need preapproval by the mentor or the Certification Committee.
Didactic Content must include:

Principles of Ultrasound
Beam formation
Resolution
Interaction with tissues
Transducer types
Artifacts: Types, Principles of formation, Means of avoidance, Clinical diagnostic value
Scanning nomenclature

Advanced Abdomen/Soft Tissue

Instructor: ACVR diplomate or other expert as evidenced by both publication record and acknowledged teaching and technical expertise (can be preapproved by the Mentor/Certification Committee)
Alternative methods of covering the didactic material will be considered, including on-line course, which will need preapproval by the mentor or the Certification Committee.
Didactic Content must include: