What is RPVI certification and how do I become certified?

What is RPVI certification?

The Registered Physician in Vascular Interpretation^® certification from the Alliance for Physician Certification & Advancement (APCA) allows physicians to "demonstrate their knowledge and expertise in vascular sonography."

Obtaining your RPVI^® distinguishes you as an expert and allows you to advance your career while also informing your patients that you have the knowledge and skill to provide them exceptional care.

How do I become RPVI certified?

To earn your RPVI® certification you must meet a set of prerequisites and pass the Physicians’ Vascular Interpretation (PVI) examination.

Step 1: Review prerequisites to confirm you are eligible

• MD or DO with a valid, unrestricted license to practice in U.S or Canada or an equivalent license that allows you to practice medicine in any country
• Be able to provide documentation of 500 vascular cases interpreted in the past 36 months. No more than 100 cases can be didactic or simulated.
• Have obtained your vascular interpretation experience from a residency or fellowship accredited by the ACGME, AOA, or RCPSC or another post-graduate medical education program that includes didactic instruction and training in interpretation of vascular laboratory studies. You can also obtain experience from employment in a supervised clinical diagnostic setting.

Step 2: Gather supporting documentation of eligibility

• Copy of current, valid, unrestricted medical license.
• Letter from appropriate individual describing your vascular interpretation experience. Letter must follow guidelines explained here.
• If you have didactic or simulated cases as part of your required 500 cases you must provide a separate letter describing this experience from the appropriate organization.
• Copy of a patient log or other record of interpretation experience with a minimum of 500 vascular laboratory studies. This documentation must be maintained for at least three years following the date of application approval as case logs are subject to audit. Case logs must include at a minimum the date of the case, the testing area of the case, and whether the case was simulated/didactic or clinical. Additionally, the case log must include the name of the supervising physician/medical director and clinical site.

Step 3: Apply for the PVI examination, provide payment, and upload eligibility and other supporting documents

• To apply log in to MY APCA and choose the “Apply Online” option.
• Upload your supporting documents within 21 days of applying
• The examination fee is $600 USD which includes a $100 refundable processing fee. (If found ineligible you will be refund minus the processing fee)

Step 4: Receive your Examination Confirmation Letter (ECL) email and schedule your exam

• Create a Pearson VUE account to schedule your exam

Step 5: Prepare for the exam

• Review exam content
• Take a practice test. Sign-up for a practice test through your MY APCA account. Each practice test fee is $35 USD.

Step 6: Take the exam and receive score report at test center

• The primary test result is a PASS or FAIL decision.
• You will receive a scaled score from 300-700. A score of 555 is a passing score.
• You can request a score verification by filling out the request form and paying the $35 USD fee.

CME Requirements

Once certified you are required to earn 30 CME credits in vascular ultrasound every 3 years to maintain your certification. The APCA-Orbit plan is the most streamlined and affordable way to earn your CME credits.

Questions? support@orbitcme.com