Continuing Education for Midwives: Ultrasound Training
Midwives are increasingly incorporating ultrasound into their practice to enhance maternal and fetal care. Ultrasound is a tool that still holds significant importance in maternity healthcare, with midwives being regarded as the most important health professionals caring for pregnant mothers. There is however, a limited amount of research about the skills and knowledge that midwives lack in performing ultrasound screening for obstetrics.
With the rising demands of maternity care around the US, ultrasound has become an important skill that midwives should incorporate into their practice. The increasing demand for ultrasound examinations from pregnant women needs to be balanced with medical indications and health benefits. Training of midwives to perform ultrasound and further training for physicians would help to address access to ultrasound for greater numbers of women across the United States.
Diagnostic Ultrasound Overview
Midwives who wish to incorporate ultrasound examinations into their scope of clinical practice should have appropriate education and training, acquire the necessary skills, and demonstrate the specific competencies to master the studies they perform.
Diagnostic ultrasound, also called sonography or diagnostic medical sonography, is an imaging method that uses sound waves to produce images of structures within your body. The images can provide valuable information for diagnosing and directing treatment for a variety of diseases and conditions.
One significant procedure to perform ultrasound for your practice is to get ultrasound certification through the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS). ARDMS administers examinations and awards credentials in the areas of ultrasound. Through its mission, ARDMS empowers sonographers to provide exceptional patient care through rigorous assessments and continual learning.
Midwife Ultrasound Certification Requirements
The Midwife Sonography examination assesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities in the areas of the female reproductive system as well as the fetus in the first, second, and third trimesters of pregnancy. By earning the Midwife Sonography Certificate, midwives gain a critical edge in promoting public safety in women’s point-of-care ultrasound.
To earn the Midwife Sonography Certificate, the certified midwife must pass both required components in the following order:
- Part One: Midwife Sonography Computer-based examination
- Part Two: Practical Examination (You may begin acquiring this practical experience before passing the computer-based examination. This experience can be completed up to 2 years before passing the computer-based examination and/or up to 2 years after passing the computer-based examination. Documentation of the cases must be received in the office within 2 years after passing the computer-based examination.)
Requirements:
- Submit an annual certificate renewal fee of $50* due by 12/31, which includes the following attestations:
- Compliant with all ARDMS compliance policies;
- Hold an active Certified Midwife (CM) or Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) credential offered by the American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB); and
- Complete certificate maintenance Option 1 or Option 2 by the deadline date of 12/31 of the fifth year of your five-year cycle.
Option 1: Continuing Education
- Obtain 15 CEUs/CMEs/CPDs in OB/GYN ultrasound practice from an ARDMS-accepted sponsor within your five-year cycle.
- Attest to having completed a minimum of 50 ultrasound scans within your five-year cycle.
Option 2: Re-examination
Register and pay for the current Midwife Sonography Certificate Examinations (both the computer-based examination and the practical examination) no sooner than the fourth year of your current five-year cycle.
- Both examination components must be completed by 12/31 of the fifth year of your five-year cycle.
- Criteria for successful completion of both examinations will be the same as those in effect for first-time applicants at the time the examination is taken.
*NOTE: If one holds another ARDMS/APCA certification, the annual fee will be the higher fee. For example, if one holds the ARDMS OB/GYN credential, the fee to renew both would be the higher fee of $85.
**Your five-year cycle begins the day you attain the Midwife Sonography Certificate and any time that remains in that year plus the next five years. For example, if you earn the certificate on 12/10/2022, your five-year cycle will be 12/10/2022 – 12/31/2027. Your five-year cycle after that will be 1/1/2028 – 12/31/2032.
Empowering Midwifery Education Offers Ultrasound Course for Midwives Accredited by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM)
This online course is made specifically for midwives and nurse practitioners and is worth 10 ACNM credits.
Made for the midwife or NP who:
- Does very limited scans (find the head, look for the heartbeat) but wants to learn to do more.
- Has learned to scan “on the job” but wants to have a more formal education.
- Wants to take the new midwifery certification exam but does not feel prepared.
- Wants to be able to bill for performing and interpreting scans.
- Any midwife or nurse practitioner who wants to expand their scope of practice to include ultrasound
Great Online POCUS Course for Midwives Available: Comprehensive Midwifery Point of Care Ultrasound
References
ARDMS CME requirements. ARDMS. (2022, July 28). Retrieved September 29, 2022, from https://www.ardms.org/Maintain-Certification/CME/
Compliance policies: ARDMS. (n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2022, from https://www.ardms.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/Compliance-Policies-ARDMS.pdf
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2022, April 30). Ultrasound. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved September 29, 2022, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/ultrasound/about/pac-20395177
