Breast Ultrasound Certification FAQ

Yes, you may take the exam up to 2 years prior to submitting your clinical case application.

Yes, you may submit your application up to 2 years prior to taking the exam.

No, you do not need to submit documentation of the required 100 breast ultrasound exams; however, keep in mind that you should maintain records for your own reference. In the application, you will be required to attest to the fact that you independently perform no fewer than 100 breast ultrasound exams per year, with review of a minimum of 100 mammography exams annually.

Fellows applying for candidate certification must submit a signed log of a minimum of 30 diagnostic and 10 interventional breast ultrasound procedures performed over the last 12 months. Fellows may utilize the ASBrS procedure log, the ACGME rotation report, or similar tracking document that has been validated by their program director.

Applicants are required to submit 3 diagnostic ultrasound procedures and 3 interventional ultrasound procedures. Please see the Breast Ultrasound Clinical Case Requirement Chart for further details regarding case submission criteria.

Fellows applying for candidate certification are required to submit one diagnostic and one interventional procedure, personally performed and documented or be co-signed by attending.

A minimum of 15 AMA-PRA category 1 CME credits in breast ultrasound is required for certification. Of these, a minimum of 7 AMA-PRA category 1 CME credits in breast ultrasound must be obtained during the 18 months prior to submission of the application. You must document successful completion of no less than 1 full-day course, including a didactic portion on the principles of ultrasound as well as a "hands-on" portion demonstrating ultrasound-guided procedures.

Fellows may utilize attendance at the ASBrS fellows breast ultrasound course to meet the all-day with hands-on element of the CME requirement.

Yes, you must submit documentation of your required CME credit hours with your completed application.

Fellows applying for candidate certification are not required to meet the CME requirement. The CME criteria will be required with the second and full certification step of the process.

The Society offers pre-meeting breast ultrasound courses at our Annual Meeting and occasionally offers regional courses during the year. Our Annual Meeting's General Session offers approximately 2-3 hours of breast ultrasound CME as well.

The American College of Surgeons and several other organizations offer breast ultrasound CME that also meet the requirements. Some online category I CME in breast ultrasound is also acceptable as part of the total 15 credit hours.

Fellows may utilize attendance at the ASBrS fellows breast ultrasound course to meet the all-day with hands-on element of the CME requirement.

Yes, you may count 7 of the AMA PRA category 1 credits earned through BESAP III when applying for breast ultrasound or stereotactic certification.

BESAP for Fellows also includes content that may count within the fellows certification path.

The Ultrasound Written Exam tests for knowledge that should be familiar to surgeons who perform breast ultrasound on a daily basis. About half of the questions on the written exam come from an introductory ultrasound course, as well as a basic breast ultrasound course. The rest require clinical experience.

Clinical cases may be submitted in hard copy form for an additional fee. Please consult the online application for details and formatting requirements.

Yes, you may submit some other types of ultrasound-guided procedures. Please consult the application or Clinical Requirements Chart for details regarding the requirements for these cases.

Yes, the reports generated from the Mastery from the diagnostic and percutaneous procedure modules contain all of the required elements of the ultrasound reports. Examples: diagnostics sample, percutaneous sample.

The reviewers are looking for cases that represent your best work and meet all of the requirements spelled out within the application. Please see the sample scorecard for further information.

Adherence to the application instructions is important for a successful outcome. Clinical cases should be gathered prospectively in order for the applicant to best meet all criteria. Please read the entire application prior to choosing your cases.

Cases may be submitted from fellowship training only if the images were personally acquired and independently interpreted by the applicant. In addition, the applicant must have made the final independent disposition for the patient based on the imaging findings.

Current Fellows or those out of fellowship within 12 months may elect to pursue the Fellows certification track for additional flexibility as they await board certification.

Yes, provided breast ultrasound training was provided.

Surgeons can easily accumulate diagnostic ultrasound experience even if they have not performed the initial ultrasound on the patient. Diagnostic images obtained at the time of an interventional procedure as well as images obtained by the surgeon to confirm the finding of an outside ultrasound can be counted in the total. The surgeon is encouraged to document his or her independent interpretation of the findings, impression and recommendation based on his or her own images obtained. The surgeon's diagnostic ultrasound does not need to be the initial ultrasound for the patient nor does the patient need to be billed for the additional study for it to count as one of the 80 annual diagnostic ultrasounds.

Two orthogonal images of the lesion, either radial/anti-radial or transverse/sagittal (longitudinal) are required. Each image must have annotation either in text or on icon regarding the side, location (clock position), and transducer orientation. Distance from the nipple must be in text. The lesion should be measured in at least 2 dimensions.

The images required depend on the type of case submitted. See application instructions. Each interventional image must have the needle clearly seen in relation to the breast lesion. Images of clips are not required.

The applicant is provided a critique of their cases by the reviewing surgeons. The applicant is given the opportunity to correct any deficiencies and resubmit additional cases for review.

The MOC application will be available through the society website 6 months prior to expiration.

Breast Ultrasound Certification is valid for 5 years.

MOC requirements:

• Medical Licensure
• Ultrasound Equipment Maintenance
• Documented performance of no fewer than 50 breast ultrasound exams per year with review of a minimum of 50 mammography exams annually that include the authenticated reports. These must include a minimum of 30 diagnostic and 20 interventional examinations.
• 15 category 1 CME credits breast content
• Valid for 5 years

The MOC application requires 15 credits of “breast” CME which can be earned through any activity on this topic. It does NOT need to be specific to ultrasound.