New Physics exam starting April 2009?

Personally, I hope the exam is more difficult to weed out some of the chaff and have the certiication hold more prestige.

I take it that u have passed ur registry. I am one that can scan (7yrs) but I am not the greatest test taker.therefore, I am not. Hoping or the test to be harder. U have those that can pass the test right out if school and can't scan..it would be nice to hear from those that have taken the pilot exam

They have added doppler to the exam. This is important in all modalities not just CV. You really should know the basic physics and how the machine works to be a good scanner. It is a fair exam. If you went to pegasus, they guarantee you to pass. Why not go back to them

Its been about 5 years since I took the Pegasus class. I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask if I could take the class again, free :-)

I have taken the pilot. There are two versions. You really need to know resolution in all shapes in forms. Axial, spatial, etc. there is more doppler on it , but not too bad. The cardio and vascular specialty exams will be harder.That is where they are putting the major physics onto. But the pilot physics was not too bad.

ALL THOSE WHO WILL TAKE SPI IN APRIL '09:
NO US THOWING YOUR MONEY FOR THE REVIEW CLASSES IF YOU HAVE NOT STUDIED YOUR TEXT BOOK. PLEASE READ MY COMMENT.
STUDY FROM FREDERICK W. KREMKAU'S PHYSICS, RECOMMENDED BY ARDMS. IT IS BETTER THAN EVEN WHAT EDDLEMAN HAS TO OFFER. YOU MUST HAVE SELF CONFIDENCE AND YOU WILL DEVELOP IT IN THE PROCESS OF STUDYING AND UNDERSTANDING THIS BOOK. UNDERSTAND THE DEFINITIONS, MEMORIZE THE HIGHLIGHS, EQUATIONS, DEFINITIONS. FOR EVERY QUESTIONS RECALL THE EQUATION AND DEFINITION BEFORE YOU READ THE CHOICES.
PRACTICE WRITING DOWN THE EQUQTIONS DAILY. STUDY THE ORDER. THERE IS A DEFINITE APPROACH TO STUDYING PHYSICS. YOU CANNOT CRAM UP. NO USE ATTENDING THE SEMINARS AND BUILD YOUR CASTLES IN THE AIR BASED ON THE FALSE HOPES AT THE SEMINAR. IF YOU STUDY AND ATTEND THE SEMINAR THAT WILL BE A GOOD REVIEW. YOU MUST SUDY PHYSICS DAILY. MAKE GOOD USE OF YOUR TEXT BOOK.
MY BOOK FELL APART AND I HAD TO PLACE THE PAGES IN A THREE RING FOLDER. I STAPLED EACH XEROXED CHAPTER AND CARRIED TO WORK, STUDIED DURING MY LUNCH BREAK. THERE MUST BE CONTINUITY AND DEDICATION WITHOUT INTERRUPTION!!!

I just ordered the Kremkau book. HOpe I got the right one..Its the beige and blue hardcover right?

Dear Daydream:
from reading your response, it is obvious to me that your anxiety level is too high which is the first reason to your failure to pass the physics exam. Second, you lack self confidence and self descipline.
You have a demanding job and you are struggling to get out of it to earn a better income and aslo have a medical career. It is good you have dreams to have a better life. So, your approach must be systematic. What I mean is: first relax. Don't make hasty dicisions and jump on the band wagon with the rest and go on without knowing your destination point. Please be productive with your time and know money is a sacred resource and be the wise steward of it. There are many salesmen out there offering all kinds os sales pitch to tempt you to spend the money which should be in the bank earning some interest.
You need to get hold of the book:DIAGNOSTIC ULTRASOUND principles and instruments, by FREDERICH W. KREMKAU, 7th edition.
You will read the list of the names of different best authors who have contributed to the writing of this valuable text book. Sidney Edleman is one of them.
90% of my class attended Edleman's review a month before the exam. He gave them gaurentee that they would pass the exam at least with passing score. Guess what only one passed and the rest failed. I don't believe in the review for the following reasons:
They tell you what they think is the right way and it is the only best way to study. I looked at the review book and the 240 questions he had given them. I told my friend: please first study the concepts and the equations from the text book and then go though his book last. She almost memorized his review and the questions and scored 519/700 (failed). Sidney Edleman's method is simple but he never explains the use of equations. I have his book:understanding US Physics. I read it from cover to cover because I didn't want to be sorry. For the exam we had 10 doppler images and none of the images came out of his book.

I took the SPI PILOT test last Oct, just got my results (passed). I have taken general and vasc physics before- long tome ago and the new test isn't alot different. The images were good, there is new thing; they show you an US image with all the settings/knob adjustments and ask you what you would adjust to get this result...etc
A few "new" topics, but if you know the basics inside and out ,and I stress that , then you should pass. And then you're done with physics forever!

Paul in Austin, Texas said: Personally, I hope the exam is more difficult to weed out some of the chaff and have the certiication hold more prestige.

Personally, I hope you'll fail it . Will serve you good for being so ignorant and over-confident at the same time

BENEDICTA NAZARETH in Stanton, California said: SPI EXAM IS VERY EASY.
JUST STUDY PHYSICS TEXT BOOK BY FREDERICK W. KREMKAU, 7TH EDITION, CHAPTERS 2,3,4,5 AND 9. sTUDY ALL HIGH LIGHTS, DEFINITIONS, SUMMARY, ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS AT THE END OF EACH CHAPTER, AT THE END THE COMPREHENSIVE WUESTIONS, MEMORIZE THE EQUATIONS. THE MOMENT YOU GET READY TO TAKE THE TEST, WRITE DOWN ALL THE EQUATIONS AND ANSWER QUESTIONS FROM THE EQUATION. THIS IS THE BEST METHOD, PRACTICE FROM THE BEGINNING FORM A HABIT OF STUDYING THIS WAY AND YOU WILL SCORE CLOSE TO 700. I DID SO YOU CAN

HOW DO YOU KNOW?!!!!!!!

BENEDICTA NAZARETH in Stanton, California said: ALL THOSE WHO WILL TAKE SPI IN APRIL '09:
NO US THOWING YOUR MONEY FOR THE REVIEW CLASSES IF YOU HAVE NOT STUDIED YOUR TEXT BOOK. PLEASE READ MY COMMENT.
STUDY FROM FREDERICK W. KREMKAU'S PHYSICS, RECOMMENDED BY ARDMS. IT IS BETTER THAN EVEN WHAT EDDLEMAN HAS TO OFFER. YOU MUST HAVE SELF CONFIDENCE AND YOU WILL DEVELOP IT IN THE PROCESS OF STUDYING AND UNDERSTANDING THIS BOOK. UNDERSTAND THE DEFINITIONS, MEMORIZE THE HIGHLIGHS, EQUATIONS, DEFINITIONS. FOR EVERY QUESTIONS RECALL THE EQUATION AND DEFINITION BEFORE YOU READ THE CHOICES.
PRACTICE WRITING DOWN THE EQUQTIONS DAILY. STUDY THE ORDER. THERE IS A DEFINITE APPROACH TO STUDYING PHYSICS. YOU CANNOT CRAM UP. NO USE ATTENDING THE SEMINARS AND BUILD YOUR CASTLES IN THE AIR BASED ON THE FALSE HOPES AT THE SEMINAR. IF YOU STUDY AND ATTEND THE SEMINAR THAT WILL BE A GOOD REVIEW. YOU MUST SUDY PHYSICS DAILY. MAKE GOOD USE OF YOUR TEXT BOOK.
MY BOOK FELL APART AND I HAD TO PLACE THE PAGES IN A THREE RING FOLDER. I STAPLED EACH XEROXED CHAPTER AND CARRIED TO WORK, STUDIED DURING MY LUNCH BREAK. THERE MUST BE CONTINUITY AND DEDICATION WITHOUT INTERRUPTION!!!

Most people think it just comes to them without any effort. I really admire yours. I'm kinda the same way. That's why for you its easy. Because you work hard for it. You have to know that you have at least 99% shot. But others do not. So, don't tell everybody its easy unless you 're bragging. Congrats!

Hey Lys,

What have you been up to? You ever going to make it down to Texas? Thanks for spreading the word for my review. i got an e-mail from a lady in NY a couple of days ago, I was wondering if she heard of me through you.

Keep on rocking,
Matt

what is one the test? ardms does not clearly state what is needed to study. what is the passing percentage for the new SPI

Sharron:
The book on patient care is:INTEGRATED PATIENT CARE for the IMAGING PROFESSIONAL, by:KOWALCZYK. DONNETT

There are about four questions on patient care.
As best as I can remember:1. tech comes to the unit to scan the patient. how would you identify the patient:a)ask the nurse to identify the patient b)check the room number c)check patients ID band...
Remember to check the ID band but also ask the patient his name and birth date to varify the correct patient.You must have two identifiers.

2)tech uses the machine to scan a patient with hepatitis C...how will you clean the machine a)send the machine to sterize.. b)leave it in the dirty utility room c)clean the machine with disinfectant solution..
The answer is :c.
So, read only the sections pertaining to US and for radiology...
The book covers all imaging areas.

thank you so much.

Rachael:
I told you about my friend with just high school diploma. She is also 9 months pregnant and had a difficult pregnancy. She complied by all the instructions I gave her as to how to study for SPI Today she took the SPI exam and passed with good score.

She had no idea how to study physics. She did not have the discipline I have because she went to school in California. She called me and thanked me for teaching her how to study and said: It is because of me she was able to pass the SPI exam. But the truth is that she complied and was persistent. Now she is already planning to go for BSN program in nursing because she has met most of the prerequisites.
If this young lady did it, you can too.
Best of luck

BENEDICTA NAZARETH in Stanton, California said: Sharron:
The book on patient care is:INTEGRATED PATIENT CARE for the IMAGING PROFESSIONAL, by:KOWALCZYK. DONNETT

There are about four questions on patient care.
As best as I can remember:1. tech comes to the unit to scan the patient. how would you identify the patient:a)ask the nurse to identify the patient b)check the room number c)check patients ID band...
Remember to check the ID band but also ask the patient his name and birth date to varify the correct patient.You must have two identifiers.

2)tech uses the machine to scan a patient with hepatitis C...how will you clean the machine a)send the machine to sterize.. b)leave it in the dirty utility room c)clean the machine with disinfectant solution..
The answer is :c.
So, read only the sections pertaining to US and for radiology...
The book covers all imaging areas.

Thank you

Nicole:
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
It is your persistence that paid off. Forget about the number of attempts. At least now you know how to study.
It is important to study chapters 2,3,4 from Kremkau and almost digest these chapters. Keep the Edleman's book UNDERSTANDING us PHYSICS OPEN and refer to it for clearer/simpler way of explanation. But Kremkau gives you the exact order to study and remember and understand the equations. There are about four questions on chapter 5 and 10 images from chapter 6 and 7. As for chapter 9, Edleman explains well but read from the text the contents not in Edleman. 4 to five questions on patient care and may be three questions on the quality control (phantom...)
If you study the resolutions from ch 2, it becomes easy to select right answer on phantom.

I am happy for you. I hope all others who have invited a spirit of fear now have a reson to know those fears are unfounded at least in Nicole's vocabulary.
Thank you for sharing.

do they have any questions about artifacts? Chapter 8 in Kremkau is on artifacts and the way i understand it is that just to skip that chapter.

I dont recall any artifact questions on my particular test but there were questions on the old test. I would NOT skip over any chapter especially being that it is a new test and you dont really know what they are going to ask. They usualy ask things like what type of artifact is produced by a strong/weak reflector. They like to ask about mirror image, grating lobe artifacts and propagation speed errors. I printed out the out line and tried to follow it as best I could. I would go over each chapter as many times as you can until you FULLY understand the concepts..dont bother memorizing because you need to understand!!!

Nicole: thank you.
I forgot all about the grating lobes, mirror image....
Yes, they are artifacts...
You are right, we must study all chapters since SPI is replacing CVT/echo physics.

Rachael:
I forgot all about grating lobes, side lobes and the mirror image...
This is indeed in chapter eight.
I am sorry I misled you.
This was unintentional

dont worry about it. a friend and i were talking and just found it odd that they wouldnt put artifacts on it since that is a big part of ultrasound. thank you again for giving me the information that you have given me.

It is good to read success stories of students who passed SPI. But please don't encourage students to find easy way out. US is a health related field and we use a high diagnostic tool to diagnose the patient. Therefore a US student must be a good student and accept challenges, upgrade knowledge and skill and get into the habit of reading a text book. You cannot substitute a text book with a study guide. Such students will stagnate and get sloppy in their art of scanning a patient. Please use this as a scientific tool and assist the radiologist to make a most accurate diagnosis.
Let your good brain direct your hands. WIthout good understanding of US physics you cannot help diagnose the paitent accurately and guess what WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND Some day you will get ill and a lousy tech will cause you to be misdiagnosed which may result in a tragedy...

Part two please see previous:

12. You should make a log to record what you are getting right and what you are getting wrong. if you dont have enough test questions go to the library and photo copy questions out of the books.
13. Start taking extra time on your weaker subjects
14. the last two weeks before the exam double your study time
15. you should also be continuously testing yourself.
16. The day of the exam: Affirm to yourself that YOU WILL PASS AND FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION. You have to get angry at the test and refuse to let it beat you. you should take it in the morning first thing. understand that you will have anxiety, and accept it. take it one question at a time. Identify why the wrong answers are wrong, trust your gut and DONT CHANGE YOUR ANSWERS unless you are positive you were initially wrong. If the pressure starts to get to you in the middle of the exam, stop for a minute close your eyes clear your mind and listen to your favorite song in your head or relive a great memory, this will recenter you.

I have passed UPI,CPI,VPI,ABD,OBGYN,VASC,&AdltECHO this way and never came close to failing. I teach a physics registry review 1 or 2 times per year and those who have followed my methods are 100% pass rate.

Matt Cowan, RT(R),RDMS,RDCS,RVT
Program Director
HCHD DMS Program

Paul in Austin, Texas said: Personally, I hope the exam is more difficult to weed out some of the chaff and have the certiication hold more prestige.

I Think it can't be right! some people are goog only on paper!!!!!
and at real work they know nothing!!!!!!

daydream said: I take it that u have passed ur registry. I am one that can scan (7yrs) but I am not the greatest test taker.therefore, I am not. Hoping or the test to be harder. U have those that can pass the test right out if school and can't scan..it would be nice to hear from those that have taken the pilot exam

I completely agree with you

M.Cowan in Houston, Texas said: I am putting on an 8 hour physics review in Houston on March,14.

I have never had anybody fail.

I will show you exactly what to do to pass.

I do on average one review per year and they have always sold out.

If anybody is interested in finally passing the ARDMS Physics, this is your chance.

my email is:
physicsman72@yahoo.com

e-mail me if you are interested and i will send you more information.

I really like to come but I cant. Is there anychance that you come to Toronto one day?I have a baby and full time job . There isn't anychance for me to come over.Pluse I can't afford it now. I'm working 9am till 6pm every day , (pluse take care of my kide)! the only time that I can study is 9pm till 3am!!!!I really have to pass this exam for my future.This is the field that I really like it and I'm very good in scaning ,too.I will really appreciat if you guide me.

Carmen:
I only studied Edleman's: UNDERSTANDING US PHYSICS", and Kremkau's book.
I made notes on chapter 2,3,4,5,6 and used Edleman's book alongside to understand the concepts that are unclear in Kremkau.I understood the equations well and learnt to fill up the missing variable. When the language of the questions is difficult, look at the equation for answer.
I answered all questions from Kremkau and studied the 500 questions form Davies publish. You don't need to stress yourself too much. If you limit to what I have used, you will get familiar with all the concepts and will be able to answer your test. Most questions come from chapter 2,3,4. You need to know the doppler images and study.
You are not doing anything wrong. Davies publish has all different type of questions on all concepts and this is enough. Study them at least twice. Do not memorize the answers.
Sleep well and remain calm. Talk to yourself blessings.
God Bless.

Carmen:
Order the CD on US physics by Davies publish. Or you may want to find out if Edleman has put out a new SPI review.

Carmen:
If you can afford to spend $73.00, call davies publish in pasadena and order a recent CD. It is good for you to learn to practice on the computer because you can take the test in different ways. One of them is to time your test and answer one question in one minute. You have 120 questions for 120 minutes. You need to gain speed and save time to go over the test at least once if not twice. This way you can design your exam by mixing the questions.

As for doppler: Understanding US physics gives pretty good explanation and hints to recognize the direction of flow etc. The Kremkau in chapter 5,6,7 also explains the Color doppler. Please read from both books simultaneously on each topic and write the page number of Understanding US physics by the same topic in Kremkau. This way you can cross reference fast and you will get accustomed to the page numbers and guess what? in the exam when you see a certain question you will recall the page number in Edlemans and Kremkau and almost see the answer through yourminds eye.
You will have 4-5 questions on patient care.
you will have about 4 -5 questions on test objects and these are mostly on resolution. Must study resolutionsand remember the acronym for lateral and axial...
In doppler they will want to know if the different colors you see in the vessel is due to low signal, high signal, turbulent flow...
First look for the color map that shows the nyquist limit, flow toward and flow away from the transducer... If that map is not there then don't bother to choose the answer on turbulent flow... It may have to do with the signal.
Please get organized and read in order. daily go over the chapters.
I cannot emphasize on the importance of prayer. Speak the promises and blessings over your self. Remain calm.

Thank you Benedicta.
Some how your words give me a lot of encouregement.
This exam is crucial for me.I am not very yong anymore,I left a good job to purssue this career.Now when I see how hard it is to find a job without ARDMS I am hoping that at least passing this test will help me to get hired easyer.
I hope you do not mind that I keep writing to you.
I will let you know what it is going to happened.

Carmen:
Can you go back to that same job and talk to your boss?
Why did you quit? You could have worked on that job and attended classes in the evening.

Please give me your email address. I have notes on chapters 2,3,4.
I have Eddleman's 235 questions which I have answered with explanation. I will forward them to you.

Benedicta

Rachael:
Someone who attended his review gave them to me but the entire bunch who went to Las Vagus for his review failed. They trusted his "you'll surely pass SPI and that is the gaurentee" and studied just his questions. They basically memorized them. This is wtong. These are good quetions and thought provoking. Send me your email address and I will forward them to you as well. You must be able to recognize all types of questions. As for me: all you need to do is study the concepts well and see how to apply the equations. They will not ask equations but the question will require you to know the equation to answer the question correctly.
Edleman's book is very well written on most topics.

Hi Benedicta...Can you forward the questions to me also? My email address is deeblaylock2000@yahoo.com...Thx so much

I always get mixed up with the question:which way is the flow going
answers are usually right to left or left to right. They give you a picture with a vessel that's half red and half blue they have the color scale on the side. I know that the color at the top of the color scale is towards the transducer but how do I know if its going right to left or left to right? I'm confused :-(

M.Cowan in Houston, Texas said: I am putting on an 8 hour physics review in Houston on March,14.

I have never had anybody fail.

I will show you exactly what to do to pass.

I do on average one review per year and they have always sold out.

If anybody is interested in finally passing the ARDMS Physics, this is your chance.

my email is:
physicsman72@yahoo.com

e-mail me if you are interested and i will send you more information.

I am definietly interested in your help with passing and understanding it better. Please email me any info you have currently to ambinioni@gmail.com.

BENEDICTA NAZARETH in Stanton, California said: Rachael:
Someone who attended his review gave them to me but the entire bunch who went to Las Vagus for his review failed. They trusted his "you'll surely pass SPI and that is the gaurentee" and studied just his questions. They basically memorized them. This is wtong. These are good quetions and thought provoking. Send me your email address and I will forward them to you as well. You must be able to recognize all types of questions. As for me: all you need to do is study the concepts well and see how to apply the equations. They will not ask equations but the question will require you to know the equation to answer the question correctly.
Edleman's book is very well written on most topics.

Please send me the question as well if at all possible. I know alot of people are probably requesting them. I really need help in passing this test. I have been trying hard to get started in this career. You cannot get a job or keep one in my city without being registered.

Hi Benedicta,
My name is maryam.I red the nots that you wrote to Carmen. I have to tell you thank you, too. Because your nots gave me hope,too.I studied very hard but I couldn't pass the first exam! For me, full time work with a baby was very hard! any way I have to pass this exam.I noticed that you have Eddelman's 235 questions.is it a book?Do you mind if give me more information abut that? I will be so thank full.My Emaill address is mazizi@aci.on.ca I will looking forward to it.
Thanks again

I went on the www.riteadvantage.com website and bought the RITE Advantage Ultrasound Physics CD.
I completely agree with Ultrasoundtech33. The software was so much better than I expected! I know now that I will pass the physics registry.

BENEDICTA NAZARETH in Stanton, California said: Carmen:
Can you go back to that same job and talk to your boss?
Why did you quit? You could have worked on that job and attended classes in the evening.

Please give me your email address. I have notes on chapters 2,3,4.
I have Eddleman's 235 questions which I have answered with explanation. I will forward them to you.

Benedicta

I am taking the spi in two weeks! could you send me the questions as well? sorry- i know you have been hit up by everyone. email is partygalok@yahoo.com

Do not let the new name of the test or all of the hype scare you!! I took the old test FIVE times and took the SPI in April and passed. The new test in my eyes seemes a lot easier to understand. My problem was not so much the content of the exam but how they asked the questions. I think the new questions are much more straight forward. As far as the cardiovascular stuff they dont ask specialty related questions it is more about how to make a blood vessel fill in better and how to improve a doppler picture. Study your ASS off and you will be OK!!

daydream said: I'm hearing alot of good things about the RITE software for physics. If anyone has passed physics after studying this software , please let me know...

Yeah I tried the RITE software. I had taken the physics exam about six months ago and failed. So I figured I would try to study more of a variety the second time around. I heard about the software from a friend who raved about it. I was skeptical but honestly I was ready to try just about anything to pass. Lets just say I passed the second time around with flying colors.

Daydream:
You are very fearful for some reason. Please don't wait to take a bold step based on someone else's success story.
Be courageous. Be honest with yourself to acknowledge your major weakness, admit it. Some wise person of the fprum will give you honest advice to overcome your fear and not try to take advantage of you by selling their expensive review.
It won't hurt to try this CD

BENEDICTA,please send me ur 235 questions which you have answered with explanation. I need it.......really....really need it.

cousine_val at yahoo.com

there are more post on this website about how to get a short cut to scanning, how to cheat ol' fashioned studying, and not getting good enough training. no wonder there are only 60,000 ARDMS registrants in the entire system. make the effort to learn the career YOU chose and not degrade what the 10yrs. plus sonographers have built for you. and to you all you who can't figure it out-news flash-quit your job and find something new to do. has YOU ever thought of the pathology YOU are missing and the countless people YOU have not helped, the countless masses you have missed and the possiblity of delayed treatment because of YOU. take some accountability and learn and stop blaming your school or your job. who cares about your notes, tips, or cheats to the registry if YOU CAN'T SCAN.

As a registered sonographer who has struggled to pass that test I can say that your statment is CRAP!! The physics test has absolutly NOTHING to do with your scanning ability. If you are unable to see pathology that has NOTHING to do with not passing a test that has no clinical pertinance. I have personally interviewd tons of people.. graduates from NYU, registered in OB/GYN, breast, abdomen and vascular with 20 years experience who come in and scan with the probe UP SIDE DOWN, so dont talk to me about knowing what you are doing because you have passed a PHYSICS exam!! This discussion has been started as means of support and understanding for those of our fellow sonographers who are trying to better themselves not as a sounding board for disgruntled people like you. Why bother replying if you are going be be so negative...go spread your volumes of knowledge somewhere else because no one here is interested.

As a registered tech with over 15 years of experience registered in Abd, Ob/Gyn, Breast and RVT I disagree with you. I have worked with many excellent techs with eyes like a hawk who have struggled to pass the physics test. I have spent hours of my time studying with people who understand all the basic concepts of physics but have been unable to pass the test because of the nature of the test. Your comments are
ignorant and your writing atrocious- maybe you're not as good as you think you are?

HELLO MY NAME IS JENNY AND IM GOING TO BE TAKING THE PHYSICS EXAM NEXT MONTH. IM JUST NOW FINISHING MY 2ND PHYSICS COURSE AND IM SUPER NERVOUS BECAUSE IM NOT UNDERSTANDING EVERYTHING. I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY SUGGESTIONS OR ADVICE ANYTHING TO HELP ME IN CLASS AND FOR THE EXAM