Assessment Information
Along with the live skills exam, this knowledge exam represents the final step in the Point-of-Care-Ultrasound Certificate of Completion for Hospitalists, developed in joint partnership with the American College of Chest Physicians.
Before registering for and completing this exam, all other POCUS COC requirements for the certificate must be completed:
- Complete Online Learning Module: SHM 's Principles of Point-of-Care Ultrasound SHM series OR CHEST's Critical Care Ultrasonography: Image Acquisition and Interpretation
- Attend CHEST's Ultrasonography: Essentials in Critical Care
- Attend an Approved Regional POCUS Course
- Complete Online Image Portfolio
Assesment Instructions
The goal of the written exam for the SHM POCUS certificate is to ensure safe use of POCUS by hospitalists by assessing clinical integration knowledge and common clinical pitfalls. This exam is designed to both assess knowledge and teach within knowledge gaps. Knowledge and skills that are best assessed in the hands-on examination, such as imaging planes and structure identification, are not included in this written exam. In combination, the SHM POCUS written and hands-on exams provide a robust assessment of the most important knowledge of basic ultrasonography, image acquisition, image interpretation, and clinical integration for hospitalists.
This exam consists of 50 multiple choice questions. The questions will ask for you to select the SINGLE best answer from the options. At the end of the exam, you will have an opportunity to review all the questions, answers, and rationales in their entirety. The alloted time to complete the exam is 2.5 hours, which begins when you start the exam.
The following abbreviations may be used in the test:
- bpm: beats per minute
- cc: cubic centimeter
- degrees C: degrees Celsius
- degrees F: degrees Fahrenheit
- Hgb: hemoglobin
- IVC: inferior vena cava
- LA: left atrium
- LV: left ventricle
- O2: oxygen
- POCUS: point-of-care ultrasound
- RA: right atrium
- RV: right ventricle
- US: ultrasound
NOTE: This exam does
not offer CME or MOC credit.