the Pulse Things that CCI s Boards are talking about

the

Pulse

Cardiovascular Credentialing International Fall 2011

continued on page 9

Things that CCI’s Boards are talking about …

Many times throughout the year my colleagues, including CCI regis-trants, ask me, “What topics are the CCI Board of Trustees talking about these days?” That is a very good question, and a question to which the answer changes not only year to year, but also month to month. Before beginning to list some of the topics currently being discussed by the Board of Trustees, I must first speak about the newly formed Board of Advisors. This past February was the inaugural meeting of the CCI Board of Advisors. The Board of Advisors is composed of individuals, both phy-sician and non-phyphy-sician, representing the specific cardiovascular fields of practice represented by the six registry-level credentials administered by CCI. The following organizations nominate individuals to the Board of Advisors: the American College of Cardiology (ACC), American College of Phlebology (ACP), American Society of Echocardiography (ASE), Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) (members still TBD), Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (SDMS), Society of Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals (SICP), and Society for Vascular Ultrasound (SVU). What is the role of the newly formed CCI Board of Advisors, you may ask? Their role is that of a body of subject matter experts who work as ambassadors of the cardiovascular field of practice and bring information concerning topics relevant to CCI as a credentialing body. While these individuals do not represent the specific professional society by which they were nominated, they do act as liaisons between CCI and those professional societies. This definition of the role of the CCI Board of Advisors is meant to provide background information when defining the role of CCI’s Board of Trustees. While the CCI Board of Advisors acts as a liaison body to the cardiovascular field of practice, the CCI Board of Trustees is the governing body for all operational functions of CCI as a corporation. The CCI Board of Trustees, which is composed of the officers of the corpora-tion, the chairs of each examination committee, and a public member, is entrusted with the responsibility of the development and administration of valid, legally defensible credentialing programs.

There are four over-arching topics of discussion currently on our active agenda, which happen to involve both the Board of Trustees and the Board of Advisors:

1. Revisions to qualification pathways for CCI’s credentialing programs 2. State level and federal level credential recognition and licensure 3. Recertification methods for CCI credentials

4. Expansion of credentials in non-North American countries Our field is evolving and thus so should the qualification pathways for credentialing examinations. The number of individuals who have been trained on the job is decreasing while the number of educational pro-grams specific to cardiovascular technology specialties is increasing. We feel that this is a positive sign that our sub-specialties are growing, as is the profession as a whole.

The field of non-invasive cardiovascular technology, encompassing both cardiac and vascular ultrasound, has seen growth in the number of edu-cational programs over the past five years. The vast majority of these pro-grams have not gained programmatic accreditation, and many of these programs have curriculums that include both echocardiography and vas-cular studies. In a number of cases these programs also include abdomi-nal and ob/gyn classes and instruction. Programmatic accreditation for cardiovascular technology programs refers to the process of third-party review of the educational program’s curriculum as well as its organiza-tional infrastructure. While CCI applauds the development of new edu-cational programs that been organized to meet the growing demand for qualified sonographers, we as an organization supporting programmatic accreditation will continue to review our qualification pathways to assure to the best of our abilities that graduates of these programs are prepared for not only the credentialing process but also the field in which they are entering. Can a program thoroughly provide proper education in 12 months to a student in both echocardiography and vascular ultrasound?

CCI Board of Trustees & Senior Staff

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

President

Douglas L. Passey, RCES, RCIS, FSICP

President Elect / Executive Exam Committee Chair

James J. Shafer, BS, RCS, RVS, RVT

Treasurer

Ken Horton, RCIS, RCS, RDCS, FASE

Secretary

Marsha Roberts, RCS, RDCS, FASE

Immediate Past President

Christopher M. Nelson, RN, RCIS, FSICP

Non-Invasive Echo Exam Committee Chair

Marsha Roberts, RCS, RDCS, FASE

Invasive Exam Committee Chair

Erik W. Hushelpeck, RCES, RCIS, FSICP

Electrophysiology Exam Committee Chair

Letitia P. Esbenshade-Smith, RCES, RCIS

Vascular Exam Committee Chair

Sharon R Whitcraft, RCS, RVS, RVT

Phlebology Exam Committee Chair

Jeannie White, RPhS, RVT

Cardiac Congenital Exam Committee Chair

Elaine A Shea, RCCS, RCIS, RCS, FASE

Certificate Level Exams Committee Chair

Sally Elliott, CCT, CRAT, RCIS

Public Member

Philip M. (Mel) Snyder, IV BOARD OF ADVISORS

The following organizations nominate a representative of their cardiovascular specialty field to sit on the CCI Board of Advisors.

American College of Cardiology (ACC)

Joseph Messer, MD, MACC

American College of Phlebology (ACP)

Nick Morrison, MD, FACS, FACPh, RPhS Joe Zygmunt, RPhS, RVT

American Society of Echocardiography (ASE)

Allan L. Klein, MD, FRCP(c), FACC, FAHA, FASE Richie Palma, RCS, RDCS, FASE

Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI)

Joseph Babb, MD, FCCC, FACC, FSCAI

Society of Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals (SICP)

Tracy Simpson, RCIS, FSICP

Society for Vascular Ultrasound (SVU)

Gail Size, BS, RPhS, RVS, RVT, FSVU

Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (SDMS)

David Adams, RCS, RDCS, FASE

Member At Large

Theodore C. Christman, RCIS, RCS, RDCS, RVS, RVT

Honorary Board Member - Historian

Dennis K. Carney, RCIS, RCS, FASE SENIOR STAFF

Executive Director

Aaron S. White

Associate Executive Director and Examination Coordinator

Jerel Noel

Director of Communications and Editor of The Pulse Christine Johnson

Director of Operations

Katesha Phillips

Executive Assistant

The Pulse and CCI are trade names of CCI. The Pulse is copyrighted by CCI and authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by CCI. Opinions expressed in The Pulse are not necessarily those of the CCI Board of Trustees, its agents, editors, advertisers or anyone connected with the publication. CCI assumes

no liability or responsibility for any claims, actions or damages resulting from publication of any article. CCI does not endorse nor recommend any review course or review material.

Cardiovascular Credentialing International 1500 Sunday Drive, Suite 102, Raleigh, NC 27607

phone: 800-326-0268; fax: (919) 787-4916 www.cci-online.org

©2011. Cardiovascular Credentialing International. All rights reserved.

CCI Credential Renewal –

September 30, 2011 – Past Due

The expiration date for CCI credentials by September 30, 2011 is past due!

If you have not completed your renewal requirements, you have a grace period until December 31, 2011 to submit CEUs, signed Code of Ethics and renewal payment. A copy of the CCI Code of Ethics was included with your renewal invoice or can be downloaded from our website by clicking on Registrants, Code of Ethics. The 90-day grace period is extended time to submit renewal paperwork. A late fee of $50.00 will be assessed to all registrants who submit their renewals during the grace period.

Please be aware that CEUs must have been earned during the triennial cycle. CEUs earned dur-ing the grace period will not be accepted but will be credited towards your next triennial cycle.

New Registrants credentialed between October 1 and December 31, 2010 are not required to submit CEUs. Submit only a signed copy of CCI’s Code of Ethics with payment of renewal fees.

If renewal requirements are not completed by December 31, 2011, registrants’ status will become inactive and registrants will be required to retest to regain an active status. Effective January 1, 2011, all inactive registrants are required to pass the one-part registry exam.

Submitting CEUs from an approved site does not mean that they are automatically accepted. Registrants who hold Registry credentials need to submit 36 CEUs, 30 of which must be cardiovascular related CEUs to complete the renewal process. Certificate level registrants are required to submit 16 CEUs. Please refer to our website www.cci-online.org and click on Links and Resources, CEU Providers.

Registrants may retake the Registry exam at any time during their triennial, with no penalty at a reduced cost, to satisfy their CEU requirement. Exam must be completed and passed before end of triennial cycle.

We urge our registrants who have not submitted the required CEUs, signed Code of Ethics form and renewal payment to do so prior to December 31, 2011 to avoid retesting. ♥

CCI is on Facebook!

Thank you to the over 1,300 people who “like” CCI on

Facebook. Like us at www.facebook.com/ccionline.org

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

Do you have job postings for CCI registrants?

Send the details to Katesha Phillips at [email protected] for posting on the CCI website. They will remain posted for up to 90 days unless you notify us the position has been filled. There is currently no charge for job postings. Jobs must require at least one CCI credential.

Are you looking for a job?

Did you know CCI has job postings on our website? They are updated frequently at www.cci-online.org/job-postings

Advocacy Corner

Getting Involved With Advocacy

Gail Size, RPhS, RVS, RVT, FSVU and Ken Horton, RCIS, RCS, RDCS, FASE are CCI’s advocacy representatives. Their role is to review legislation at the state and national levels, ensure credentialing is the minimum standards for invasive and non-invasive medical imaging and to ensure CCI is identi-fied as a credentialing body.

When the word “advocacy” is seen in an article or publication it often immediately causes the reader to turn the page or skip to the next article. Ironically, as much as this information is breezed over or ignored, it will probably have as big of an effect on our careers as any other article in whichever journal you are reading. Last issue, in the Advocacy Corner, Gail Size introduced the term “grassroots efforts”. This term is used to indicate that every single one of us right down to the newest student entering the field has to be a part of the advocacy efforts we see and hear about. We all must ban together and either promote or oppose any piece of legislation that affects the invasive or non-invasive communities. If you are wondering how you can keep stay current or keep in touch with all the advocacy issues going on I have a couple suggestions:

1. Join your respective professional society – By being a member of a professional society you are contributing financially to advocacy ef-forts. Each society takes a part of your membership dollars and allots them to advocacy efforts. It may be something as small as dedicating a portion of their website to advocacy or as large as hiring Capitol Hill lobbyists to monitor and address new or changing legislation. Get involved with your association by volunteering to help work on advocacy issues. To be quite frank, people are not busting down doors to get on advocacy committees and we really need people willing to step up and take on the challenges associated with advocacy efforts.

2. Don’t shy away from the term Advocacy - If you see any mention in an article that refers to advocacy – Read it. Read it thoroughly and try to understand it. Once you read it pass that information on to your co-workers and have them read it. Look for action items in the article and act on them. If it asks you to contact a representative then contact them. Phone, fax, email or even visit your representatives and let them know how you feel about the impending legislation. Please don’t as-sume someone else is taking care of it.

3. Notify someone if you see something – If you happen to be thumb-ing through your local paper and notice an article about changes to health care in your state that may affect your profession, notify someone. Again, each professional society has advocacy representa-tives that can either start to deal with the problem themselves or they will at least know who to notify so action can start. Too many pieces of legislation go unnoticed until they are being debated or about to be introduced. The earlier we hear about them the earlier we can review them and ensure they protect the best interests of ourselves and our patients. You may contact Ken at [email protected], Gail at

[email protected], or Christine Johnson, Director of Communica-tions at [email protected].

4. Be proactive not reactive – You have heard this so many times in your life but it is so important when it comes to advocacy. Do not sit back and wait for someone to ask for your help. Step up and volunteer to help. We need every one of you in every state to get involved. We may ask you to attend a public hearing, speak to a representative, or sit on a board developing legislation or putting passed legislation into effect.

5. Encourage and mentor - Encourage your fellow coworkers and colleagues to become credentialed. Share the tremendous amount of pride and self esteem you felt and continue to feel since earning your credential. Give back to your profession - share your knowledge - mentor a colleague. Remind the non-credentialed professional that they need to be proactive and working towards credentialing as their continued employment may depend upon it.

Whatever the role the true meaning of grassroots is getting every single one of us involved. We cannot hope our coworker is sending that email or making that phone call. It is the responsibility of all of us to get involved and try to make a difference. If we do not, changes will be made that can adversely affect not only our careers but the patients that we take care of every day.

Care Bill Update

As Gail mentioned last issue, the CARE Bill was introduced in the House on June 2, 2011. When the Bill was introduced it had 19 cosponsors. Sponsorship of the Bill has grown to 46 cosponsors. Once it was intro-duced in the House it was referred to subcommittee for review. There has been no further progress beyond that. Please keep a look out for e-Alerts with regard to this very important legislation. For up to date information on the progress of the CARE Bill visit https://www.asrt.org/content/Gov-ernmentRelations/_legislativeregulatory.aspx. ♥

Session Topics Include:

• Varicose and Spider Vein Treatment • Diagnosis and Treatment of

Venous Ulcers

• Lymphedema and Compression • Chronic Complications of DVT • Thoracic Outlet Syndrome • Athletes & Venous Disease

Two-Day Special Interest Sessions Include:

• New & Emerging Technologies • Insurance, Reimbursement

and Appeals

• Marketing a Phlebology Practice • Advanced Imaging: MR, CT and

Advanced US

Acquire New Skills

Enhance Patient Outcomes

Learn the most current information and techniques in the treatment of venous and lymphatic disease from nationally and internationally recognized vein care

professionals at the 2011 ACP Annual Congress in Los Angeles, November 3-6, 2011.

25th Annual Congress

The American College of Phlebology is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The American College of Phlebology designates this live activity for a maximum of 23.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

510.346.6800

www.acpcongress.org www.phlebology.org

The 2011 ACP Annual Congress is being held at the JW Marriott housed within the L.A. Live entertainment complex, just steps from the Staples Center, The Grammy Museum, fashionable restaurants and nightclubs, a bowling alley and ESPN’s West Coast broadcast headquarters.

Inaugural CCI Cardiovascular Educators’ Forum

Are you an Educator? Are you interested in having an opportunity to share ideas, successes, and lessons learned with your peers? Then you want to be at the CCI Cardiovascular Educators’ Forum! It will be held March 30-31, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The goal of the CCI Cardiovascular Educators’ Forum is to provide a venue for the educators to speak

openly about the future of the cardio-vascular profession. CCI seeks to become a resource for educators by providing a forum for peer interaction and idea-sharing and to in-crease our relationship with educational programs. These edu-cators will be affecting the future genera-tions of cardiovascular professionals, whether they be cardiac sonographers, vascular sonographers and specialists, cardiac catheterization lab profes-sionals or cardiac electrophysiology profesprofes-sionals. Our support of these professionals is crucial for the success of our field.

Today’s cardiovascular educators are faced with many demands such as pressures to stay abreast of the latest technology while having reductions in their continuing education budget. We hope that the profession can as-sist these educators by providing to them at little cost a venue where they can learn from colleagues across the country, share successes and learn from common challenges.

Our goal is to host educators from programs all across the country in this inaugural forum. The following are examples of topics that will be discussed:

• teaching challenges (didactic, clinical, and distance), • didactic and scan skills sets,

• admission qualifications,

• the future of cardiovascular testing,

• and CCI’s qualification pathways for CCI credentialing examinations.

Sponsorship Opportunities are available for this event. For more information contact Christine Johnson at [email protected] or 1-800-326-0268. ♥

Contribute to The Pulse

Submit articles to [email protected] Logos and photos must be high resolution.

The American College of Cardiology Welcomes

Cardiovascular Technologists to Membership

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) is expanding! The ACC recently welcomed a new membership category, and is now accepting applications from cardiovascular technologists, including sonographers, electrophysiology specialists, invasive specialists and vascular specialists. Cardiovascular technologists will be welcomed into the ACC as part of its new Partners in Care membership category. Applicants must be certified by Cardiovascular Credentialing International and have two or more years of experience in their field.

The American College of Cardiology is an organization dedicated to improving the quality of cardiovascular care, through research, education, advocacy, science and quality and membership. The College unites mem-bers from various parts of the cardiac care team including physicians, nurses, practice managers, pharmacists and physician assistants in efforts toward this common goal.

Cardiovascular technologists are on the front lines every day, working with physicians and cardiovascular care team members alike to make and execute the best medical decisions possible with flawless precision. Keep-ing up-to-date on the latest pharmaceuticals, technology and guidelines can be daunting. Membership in the ACC can help.

As a member, cardiovascular technologists will have the opportunity to network with colleagues from around the cardiac care team to advance their career and specialty. Members can also advance their careers by tak-ing advantage of opportunities to influence policy both within the College and beyond by participating in and leading committees, working groups and more.

In addition, the College’s educational benefits will help technologist mem-bers improve the care they give their patients and increase the depth and breadth of their knowledge within their field. Partners in Care members of the ACC will gain access to the JACC Journals online: the Journal of the

American College of Cardiology (JACC), JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging

and JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions. Additionally, members gain full access to CardioSource.org, filled with up-to-date information in the field, journal scans, guidelines and interactive online networking opportunities. The website also includes an increasing number of recordings of FREE educational live events, with slides synchronized to audio that will help members stay up to date.

The benefits also include a monthly newsletter just for cardiovascular technologist, nurse, pharmacist and physician assistant members of the ACC, with both clinical and organizational content driven BY members themselves. Members also have the opportunity to opt in to receive topic-centric newsletters on issues they find relevant to their specific clinical interests.

Additionally, the ACC makes it easier for members to stay up-to-date on items that don’t come free with membership, by offering significant discounts on registration to the ACC’s Annual Scientific Session, discounts on educational live events and self-assessment and Meeting on Demand™ programs.

The ACC is now accepting applications for Partners in Care membership. For more information on the membership category and to apply today, visit www.CardioSource.org/PIC . Interested applicants may also contact Partners in Care staff liaison, Kelli Bohannon, at [email protected] . ♥

CCI Staff spotlight –

Stephanie Ricker

Stephanie Ricker joined CCI in December of 2010 as a Registrant Services Specialist. As a member of the CCI Registrant Services Department, she

processes all CEUs for registrant renewals, processes CCI’s mail, sends out Examination Application and Overview booklets and self assessments, and assists registrants and applicants with phone and email inquiries. Stephanie earned her Bachelor’s degree at Campbell University in 2009, where she majored in English and minored in History. In her leisure time, Stephanie goes on adventures and writes stories, sometimes simultane-ously. She enjoys snow, reading classic literature, climbing trees, and using sesquipedalian words. ♥

October is Medical Ultrasound

Awareness Month!

Visit www.cci-online.org/node/284

to order Catch the Wave items.

Congratulations to the 2011 Fellowship of Society of

Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals!

Tracy Simpson presenting Stephanie Ranck, RCIS, FSICP with fellowship.

Congratulations to Doug Passey and Stephanie Ranck on becoming the most recent recipients of the FSICP designation!

Fellowship in SICP requirements:

1. Have sat for, and passed, the Invasive Registry (RCIS) examination administered by Cardiac Credentialing International (CCI). 2. Active status with CCI and the SICP.

3. Current staff position at a health care facility based in the cardiac catheterization laboratory or associated with an invasive cardiovascu-lar technology program.

4. The applicant must have made significant contributions to the SICP, or to the field of invasive/diagnostic cardiology.

This last requirement may be fulfilled by publication in national journals, authoring or coauthoring a book/chapter, serving on committees or special projects for the society, or serving as an officer or committee chairman in a recognized national organization which has an overlap-ping interest in cardiology. This requirement may also be met if the applicant has been responsible for the organization of, or presentation in, educational programs on the national or regional level with a course curriculum relevant to cardiology. ♥

Tracy Simpson presenting Doug Passey, RCES, RCIS, FSICP with fellowship.

JASE has created its first-ever author video

Dr. Allan Klein of the Cleveland Clinic, CCI Board of Advisors mem-ber, discusses his recent study, “Role of Transesophageal Echocar-diography Compared to Computed Tomography in Evaluation of Pulmonary Vein Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation (ROTEA Study)” in a video posted on the JASE homepage. The article, published in the September 2011 issue of JASE, “prospectively compare[s] findings on TEE with those in CT” in a “single-blinded observational study

of patients with paroxysmal or persis-tent AF undergoing ablation.” Dr. Klein is the first JASE-published author to create a video cast of this kind. Both his video and the abstract for his article are available on

Defining Licensure, Certification, Credential,

and Registry

By Carol Mitchell PhD, RDMS, RDCS, RVT, RT(R), FASE, FSDMS This article will define licensure, certification, credential, and registry. The advantages and disadvantages to licensure will also be briefly discussed.

Licensure, by definition, is the granting of permission by a government agency to practice a specific occupation with evidence of competency (Whitaker, 1992, Zeiss Dielman & Huber, 1972). The purpose of licensure is to make it illegal for unlicensed persons to perform tasks specific to the licensed occupation (Balasa, 2011 http://www.aama-ntl.org/resourc-es/library/CMAandRMA.pdf accessed 9-6-2011). Licensure is designed to define a scope of practice and to protect the public from those who have not demonstrated minimum competence to practice in the licensed occupation (Wilson & Wilson, 2009). Professionals are usually licensed by state boards or state commissions. The boards are in charge of moni-toring entrance into the occupation by creating entrance requirements. Boards also review complaints about practitioners and administer disci-plinary action (Wilson & Wilson, 2009, Dower et al, 1998).

The advantages to state licensure for sonography include the following:

1) Allows members of an occupation/profession to be recognized for the scope of work they do (provides professional legitimacy)

2) Sets minimum competence standards to practice (for example, requiring sonographer certification/credentialing to practice) 3) Protects the public from those who have not demonstrated minimum

competence from practicing (Wilson & Wilson, 2009, Berman, 1989). 4) Allows for an accurate number of practicing sonographers to be counted 5) Could result in an increased number of education programs

(Berman, 1989)

6) Provide data on practicing sonograpers (i.e. practice trends, education level Berman, 1989)

7) Means to communicate with practicing sonographers (Berman, 1989)

The disadvantages to licensure include the following:

1) It now gives control to the government to determine what competence is (versus a health care profession) (Whitaker, 1992 p. 216). Generally licensure is at the state level, so if licensure were to pass in each state, there is the potential for 50 different licensure laws (Wilson & Wilson, 2009, p. 89).

2) The minimum competency level is generally set to allow the greatest num-ber of people to practice (Berman, 1989). Regulation process is generally influenced by the cost of care, quality of care, health care access, accredita-tion, reimbursement, and malpractice (Wilson & Wilson, 2009 p. 89). Certification, by definition, is the recognition of an individual by a speci-fied non-government agency. In order to be certispeci-fied, individuals need to meet certain requirements (e.g., pass a test, complete a standard level of education, etc.) (Whitaker, 1992, and Balasa, 2011 http://www.aama-ntl. org/resources/library/CMAandRMA.pdf accessed 9-6-2011). Categories for certification include professional organizations and state certifica-tions (Wilson & Wilson, 2009 p. 90). With state certification, there will be statutory language developed to protect a profession’s title, and only those certified may use the title (Wilson & Wilson 2009 p. 90). Certifica-tion by professional organizaCertifica-tions grants recogniCertifica-tion to individuals who have met the organization standards and is voluntary (Wilson & Wilson, 2009 p. 90 and Forni, 1973 p.18).

In the profession of sonography some examples

of professional certification / credentialing bodies include Cardiovas-cular Credentialing International (CCI), American Registry Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) and the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS).

The term “credentialed” refers to an individual who has passed a mini-mum competency exam. A credential represents something an individual has earned. A credential can serve as an individual’s proof of being qualified to perform the task. Examples of credentials that sonographers can earn are RCS, RDCS, etc. Credentialing exams serve a purpose, in that they are designed to ensure that the individuals practicing in this occupation have met certain standards (Raymond, 2005). Therefore, credentialing exams are developed to be job related and often utilize practice analysis tools to develop their content (Raymond, 2005, AERA et al., 1999).

The term “registry” refers an official record, listing an individual’s name, and qualifications/credentials with a designated authority (Wilson & Wilson, 2009 ASSE, 1999). Individuals can be registered with a private organization/association or with a government agency (Wilson & Wilson, 2009 p. 91, ASSE, 1999 ). Registry lists can be used by the public to view the qualifications/credentials of individuals.

In summary, licensure, certification, and registry each have their own definition and play a role in how a profession can be recognized, and a mechanism for setting minimum practice standards.

References

1. American Educational Research Association (AERA). American Psychological Psycho-logical Association & National Council on Measurement in Education (1999). Stan-dards for educational and psychological testing. Washington DC: American Educational research Association.

2. American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) (1999). Professional Safety 44, 6. 3. Balasa , D.A. (Accessed 9-6-2011). American Association of Medical Assistants:

Chicago, IL. Certification and licensure: Facts you should know. Retrieved from http:// www.aama-ntl.org/resources/library/CMAandRMA.pdf .

4. Berman, M. (1989). Mandatory licensure of sonographers. Journal of Diagnostic Medi-cal Sonography 4, 191.

5. Dower, C.M., Gragnol, C.M., & Finocchio, L.J. (1998). Changing nature of physician licensure-Implicaitons for medical education in California. West J Med 168, 422-427. 6. Forni, P.R. (1973). Trends in licensure and certification. Journal of Nursing

Administra-tion 3, 17-23.

7. Milburn, D. (2003). Sonographer shortages: A day late and a dollar short? Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography 19, 204.

8. Raymond, M.R. (2005). An NCME Instructional module on developing and administer-ing practice analysis questionnaires. Educational Measurement Issues and Practice 24, 29-42.

9. Rosenbloom, J., Dempsey, A.L. , Gillam, L.D., et al (2001). Licensure of the cardiac sonographer: an overview of issues and activities. Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography 14, 1212-1219.

10. Whitaker , Y.N. (1992). What does ARDMS mean to John Doe? Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography 8, 216.

11. Wilson, M., Wilson, A. (2009). What does government regulation really mean? Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography 25, 89-93.

12. Zeiss, R., Dielman, R., & Huber, S. (1972). Some thoughts concerning certification-registry-licensure. Journal of Nuclear Medicine 13, 398-399.

SVU 2011

Educational Courses

2011 Legislative, Regulatory &

Reimbursement Issues Course

November 4-5, 2011

Hilton Crystal City Hotel Crystal City, VA

http://www.svunet.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3352

2012 SVU Meetings

February 24-25, 2012

Spring RPVI Exam Review Course The Westin Tampa Harbour Island

Tampa, FL

June 7-9, 2012

2012 SVU Annual Conference Gaylord Convention Center National Harbor, MD (near Washington DC) http://www.svunet.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3285

September 7-8, 2012

Fall RPVI Exam Review Course Omni Hotel

Dallas, TX

CCI Credential Renewal –

December 31, 2011

The expiration date for CCI credentials by December 31, 2011 is now due! If you have not completed your renewal requirements, you have a grace period until March 31, 2012 to submit CEUs, signed Code of Ethics and renewal payment. A copy of the CCI Code of Ethics was included with your renewal invoice or can be downloaded from our website by clicking on Registrants, Code of Ethics. The 90-day grace period is extend-ed time to submit renewal paperwork. A late fee of $50.00 will be assessextend-ed to all registrants who submit their renewals during the grace period.

Please be aware that CEUs must have been earned during the trien-nial cycle. CEUs earned during the grace period will not be accepted but will be credited towards your next triennial cycle.

New Registrants credentialed between January 1 and March 31, 2011 are not required to submit CEUs. Submit only a signed copy of CCI’s Code of Ethics with payment of renewal fees.

If renewal requirements are not completed by March 31, 2012, registrants’ status will become inactive and registrants will be required to retest to regain an active status. Effective January 1, 2011, all inactive registrants are required to pass the one-part registry exam.

Submitting CEUs from an approved site does not mean that they are automatically accepted. Registrants who hold Registry credentials need to submit 36 CEUs, 30 of which must be cardiovascular related CEUs to complete the renewal process. Certificate level registrants are required to submit 16 CEUs. Please refer to our website www.cci-online.org and click on Links and Resources, CEU Providers.

Registrants may retake the Registry exam at any time during their trien-nial, with no penalty at a reduced cost, to satisfy their CEU requirement. Exam must be completed and passed before end of triennial cycle.

We urge our registrants who have not submitted the required CEUs, signed Code of Ethics form and renewal payment to do so prior to March 31, 2012 to avoid retesting. ♥

Visit the CCI booth at these

upcoming events:

North Carolina Ultrasound Society

Fall Symposium

October 22, 2011 Carolina Beach, NC

American College of Phlebology

November 3-6, 2011 Los Angeles, CA

Look for CCI advertisements in

Cath Lab Digest, EP Lab Digest,

Vein Therapy News, and

VEIN magazine.

15th Diastology and New Echo Technologies Summit:

Featuring Heart Valve and Contrast Echo Mini Symposium

Cleveland Clinic’s “15th Diastology and New Echo Technologies Summit: Featuring Heart Valve and Contrast Echo Mini Symposium” provides a unique opportunity for attendees to interact with key opinion leaders and receive updates in Diastology, heart valve disease, new and emerging echo technologies, and contrast echocardiography. The summit will be held February 22-25, 2012, at the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort and Spa, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Approximately 200 attendees are expected. The Summit is divided into four parts.

The first part is Diastology, which will present a state-of-the-art summit on new advances in diastolic heart failure including new guidelines, epi-demiology, clinical diagnostic approaches, specific diseases and effects of therapy of diastolic heart failure, hemodynamic monitoring as well as clinical trials.

The second part is Heart Valve Disease which will present a state-of-the-art mini symposium on new advances in valvular hestate-of-the-art disease including epidemiology, clinical diagnostic approaches to mitral, tricuspid, and aortic regurgitation and aortic stenosis as well as new approaches to valve repair including robotics and percutaneous and transcatheter techniques. An emphasis on our TAVI program at Cleveland Clinic will be discussed. The third part is New Echo Technologies, which will highlight new and emerging applications in real time 3-D and 4-D echo, live 3-D TEE, 2-D

strain, stress echo, cardiac resynchronization/LVAD treatments in heart failure, and interventional echo.

The fourth part is Contrast Echocardiography, which will present a state-of-the-art mini symposium on the basic principles of contrast echo, rest and stress LVO and EBD, myocardial perfusion and new research applica-tions. There will also be a discussion of safety issues and clinical trials. In addition, the summit will feature important controversies and Interac-tive Workshops for each of these topics. The Diastology and Heart Valve Disease workshops will incorporate “Read-with-the-Experts” sessions through case presentations and a Basic Sonographer tutorial. The New Echo Technologies workshop will include 3-D echo, strain and CRT cases as well as a Basic Sonographer tutorial. The Contrast Echocardiography workshop will have a “Read-with-the-Experts” session on LVO, EBD and myocardial perfusion.

The summit is designed to address critical education needs identified through an analysis of educational gaps evident in the areas of valvular heart disease and diastology. It will also focus on the use of new echocar-diographic technologies and contrast echocardiography.

To request more information as it comes available visit www.ccfcme.org/ echo12 ♥

We will be looking more closely at those programs who have not achieved programmatic accreditation to determine if there is too much training across multiple ultrasound specialties to the detriment of an individual specialty, such as cardiac or vascular ultrasound.

The Board of Trustees approved this year that the RCIS1 (two years of on the job training) qualification pathway for the RCIS credentialing program will be removed as a viable option on July 1, 2013. This is the first move for CCI with regards to eliminating purely on-the-job training pathways and enforces the profession’s belief that formal education is important for our profession as a whole. Please note that the elimination of the two-year on-the-job pathway for the RCIS credentialing program will not limit the qualification of healthcare professionals such as RNs and RTs from earning the RCIS credential; in fact, the number of RNs and RTs earning the RCIS credential is at a record high, as is the number of formerly educated invasive CVTs.

Will the other registry-level credentialing programs remove the two-year on-the-job training pathway? At this time there has been no decision as to when, if ever, these pathways will be closed, but the CCI Board of Trustees, with the input from the CCI Board of Advisors and the CCI Examination Committees, will continue to evaluate the field of practice

and the influencing factors, such as credential recognition on formal state and federal levels.

Recently we have seen activity on the state level with regards to the licensure of sonographers and the limited licensure status of the RCIS credential. The states of Oregon, New Mexico, West Virginia, and New Jersey all have, at some stage, licensure bill or regulatory language in review or in the approval process. The state of Ohio recently updated the recognition of the RCIS credential as a Limited License for imaging in cardiac catheterization procedures.

CCI, through the work of our Board of Advisors, continues to monitor and act in an advisory role with our related professional societies to gain the appropriate recognition for not only CCI’s credentials, but also for the cardiovascular profession as a whole.

Yes, the discussions regarding recertification assessment tools continue. By mid 2012, CCI will have formalized its new recertification poli-cies, which will include an assessment tool, whose format is still to be determined, that will be required over a certain period of time, in order to renew a CCI credential. CCI’s role as a credentialing body encompasses more than just developing and administering credentialing examina-tions. An important part of any valid credentialing program is the over-sight of maintenance of subject matter knowledge. In order to validate

Things that CCI’s Boards are talking about …

continued from page 1

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New Bachelor of Applied Science Cardiopulmonary Sciences

Degree offered at Edison State College

Edison State College, Fort Myers, Florida, is proud to introduce a new Bachelor’s Degree Program in Cardiopulmonary Sciences. This new program is a collaborative effort involving Edison’s existing Associate in Science Degree Programs in Invasive Cardiovascular Technology and Respiratory Care. Edison began the AS Degree program in Invasive Cardiovascular Technology in 1989. The Bachelor of Applied Science in Cardiopulmonary Sciences program is designed for Registered Cardio-vascular Invasive Specialists, RCIS’s, and Registered Respiratory Thera-pists, RRT’s, holding AS degrees, who want to advance their education. The program will provide cardiovascular professionals with a well-rounded general education in the arts and sciences as well as advanced understanding in Cardiopulmonary Sciences. The Cardiopulmonary Sci-ences B.A.S. provides career advancement for entry-level health profession practitioners. Students will develop management and leadership skills and gain a broader-based knowledge of healthcare delivery skills. The program offers a diverse population of students with innovative educa-tional experiences and opportunities to meet the healthcare needs of the community they serve. The program provides a career and educational

pathway for RCIS’s and RRT’s that would like to: enhance their knowledge of cardiopulmonary diseases and treatments, and expand their careers into education, management/supervision, research or industry. The B.A.S. in Cardiopulmonary Sciences program includes courses in professional issues, advanced pharmacology, diagnosis and intervention, patient management, research, legal and ethical aspects of healthcare, pathophysiology, leadership, and community health. Courses are offered in an online or blend of online and traditional formats to accommodate students’ various schedules and learning preferences. Students may select from an array of electives to compliment their learning. Courses are of-fered for full and part-time students. The program also provides a basis for continued education at the graduate level.

For additional information feel free to visit http://www.edison.edu/aca-demics/bscardiopulmonary/index.php or call 239-985-8398.

For Program Specific Requirements, as listed in the Edison State College Catalog, please visit: http://catalog.edison.edu/preview_program.php?cat oid=4&poid=135&returnto=253 ♥

such oversight, CCI will begin to implement recertification assessment tools, as will other credentialing bodies. CCI will continue to keep its registrants apprised of the policies that will affect each of you at some point in your professional career.

Last but certainly not least is the expansion of CCI’s credentials in coun-tries outside of North America. In recent years the number of credential-ing examinations administered in countries such as China, Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates has grown. CCI has received recent interest in improving the credentialing of profession-als in certain African countries, and we will be exploring the best ways to assist the professions in these countries with the appropriate credential-ing programs.

Of course these are not the only topics discussed among the CCI Board of Trustees and the CCI Board of Advisors, but these are the “30-thousand-foot level” discussions that can take years and many man-hours on which to make decisions. The CCI Boards understand the importance of improving the cardiovascular profession and working with you, our registrants, and our colleagues in leadership roles of related professional societies to advance our field.

We hope that you will take the time to get involved with the professional societies listed above, as those organizations nominate individuals to our Board of Advisors. It is through these organizations that you can make a significant difference in our chosen profession. ♥

Things that CCI’s Boards are talking about …

SICP Update

SICP’s 2011 New England Symposium and

Annual Meeting is a Boston Success!

By Nicole Shore, SICP Executive Director

See photos at right from the SICP New England Symposium and Annual Meeting! Held at the Boston Marriott Quincy from July 28 to 30, the New England Symposium included an RCIS Review Course, a legisla-tive update on issues facing the invasive cardiovascular professional, an educators’ round-table, and a managers’ retreat for cath lab leadership. Also featured were student case studies and abstracts as well as several hands-on topics: structural heart repair, drug eluding stents, transradial approach, a web lab, and a skills lab.

SICP is now scheduling RCIS and RCES Review Courses for 2012. Plan ahead and Book today.

Upon the great participation and success of the Wet Lab held during the New England Symposium, we are now offering this hands-on experience as an add-on to any Review Course. Add this to your course today for an additional fee at a discounted rate. Visit www.sicp.com to request more information.

RCIS Mini Review Course at TCT

Monday, November 7, 2011 • 12:15 - 5:30pm Moscone Center • San Francisco, California

For those who are considering sitting for the RCIS examination, breakout sessions will be held covering the following topics:

• In-depth cardiovascular structure

• Coronary angiography through the eyes of the interventionalist • Aortic stenosis in depth: pathology and associated hemodynamics • Mitral regurgitation in

depth: pathology & associ-ated hemodynamics

• Special Session: In co -ordination with CVPath, Hands on Hearts will allow the participant to take all that was learned in the prior session and touch actual cadaver hearts with the aortic stenosis, mitral regurgitation, and coronary artery disease. Register today at http://www. tctconference.com/ ♥

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Nicole Shore, SICP Executive Director

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