About the Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) Certification Academy™
The Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) Certification Academy exists to provide physicians and advanced-practice practitioners the opportunity to collaborate in the shared mission of improving global health and setting the standards of excellence in POCUS.
We partner with our constituents through rigorous assessments, continual learning opportunities and community building around important topics relevant to POCUS. The POCUS Certification Academy allows physicians and advanced-practice providers to demonstrate their knowledge, test their proficiency and promote best practices in POCUS.
We believe that the future of ultrasound is portable, mobile and provides exceptional results. If you are ready to join the future of healthcare, join us.
Our Partner Organizations
The pioneering organizations working with the POCUS Certification Academy in setting direction and strategy include:
- The American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography® (ARDMS ®)
For more than 40 years, ARDMS has set the standard for administering examinations and awarding credentials in areas of ultrasound. ARDMS empowers sonographers to provide exceptional patient care through rigorous assessments and continual learning.
- The Alliance for Physician Certification & Advancement ™ (APCA ™)
Spun out of ARDMS in 2016 to meet the exclusive needs of physicians, APCA is dedicated to continual learning and providing high-quality and compassionate patient care through certification. APCA joins ARDMS in furthering its long-standing mission of raising the global standards of excellence in healthcare and patient safety.
POCUS Certification Academy Committee Members
The POCUS Assessment Committee has a leading role in the development of the certificates and certifications of the POCUS Certification Academy. The Committee is composed of volunteers who are subject-matter experts and are leading the practice by building the future of point-of-care ultrasound in action. They work with Inteleos staff and more than 50 other volunteers to develop high standards and credentials with the goal of improving global healthcare. Due to the dynamic nature of POCUS, we approach development as an ongoing process and we are always refining our programs to be better.
James A. DellaValle, MD, is a 1977 graduate of The Medical College of Pennsylvania (now known as the Drexel University School of Medicine) and has been licensed to practice medicine since 1978. His professional activities have been focused on the areas of emergency and family medicine for those who live in rural areas and under-served populations. His current practice of emergency medicine is in an urban environment caring for those who have limited access to health care. He has served as medical adviser and a member of the Board of Trustees of Hands Together, an NGO working with the poorest of the poor in the Republic of Haiti for the last 15 years. Throughout his career, Dr. DellaValle has been and continues to be involved in undergraduate and graduate medical education. He has served as both a faculty member and residency program director. He is an associate professor of emergency medicine at the Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York. Dr. DellaValle is board certified in emergency medicine, family medicine and medical acupuncture. He holds certificates of added qualifications in geriatric medicine and hospital medicine from the American Board of Family Medicine and a certificate in tropical medicine from the University of Minnesota. He has been awarded a fellowship by the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture and the American College of Emergency Physicians. He is certified by ARDMS in abdominal, cardiac and vascular ultrasound.
Ernesto Brauer, MD, FACP, FCCP, ABSM, is a graduate of the National University of Mexico City. He trained in internal medicine, pulmonary and critical medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Milwaukee, WI. He has been practicing since 1986 and specializes in the care of critically ill and injured postoperative patients. His interests also include the difficult airway and ultrasound. He is also a clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatrics, Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Adult Echocardiography.
R. Eugene Zierler, MD, RPVI, is Professor of Surgery in the Division of Vascular Surgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine and Medical Director of the D. E. Strandness, Jr. Vascular Laboratory at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. He received both his undergraduate and medical education at the Johns Hopkins University, receiving an A.B. degree in 1973 and the M.D. degree in 1976. Dr. Zierler’s research interests have focused on the clinical applications of noninvasive diagnostic techniques for vascular disease. Over the last 30 years, he has been involved in a series of projects based on the use of ultrasonic duplex scanning for screening and follow-up of vascular problems, including carotid artery disease, lower extremity arterial disease, surveillance of vein bypass grafts, deep vein thrombosis, and renal artery disease. Dr. Zierler is the author or co-author of over 100 journal articles and 50 book chapters, and he is the editor of 6 textbooks. He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS) and Inteleos. He is also a Past President of the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Vascular Laboratories (ICAVL).
Dean Vlahaki, MBBS, RDMS, FRCP, graduated from the University of Queensland Medical school in Brisbane, Australia in 2011. He completed his Emergency Medicine residency training and POCUS specialty training at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada in 2017. Vlahaki now practices at multiple sites in a network of academic tertiary care hospitals in Hamilton, Canada. He is also an Assistant Clinical Professor with McMaster University and a major contributor to the Emergency Medicine Point-of-Care Ultrasound Fellowship program at McMaster University.
David L. Dawson, MD, RVT, RPVI graduated from the University of Southern California and completed his residency in surgery and fellowship in vascular surgery at the University of Washington. He is a decorated Air Force veteran who worked at NASA as Chief of the Medical Sciences Division at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. After 16 years on the University of California, Davis Department of Surgery faculty, he is now with Baylor Scott & White Health in central Texas. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Society for Vascular Ultrasound, and Society for Vascular Medicine, and a distinguished Fellow of the Society for Vascular Surgery. He is the Vice Chair of the APCA Council.
Christopher Davis, PA-C, RT, is a graduate of A.T. Still University PA program and Weber State University Radiologic Sciences program. Mr. Davis has been practicing since 2006 as a Physician Assistant in the Interventional Radiology department at Banner Baywood Medical Center in Mesa, AZ. Mr. Davis is an adjunct faculty at A.T. Still University Physician Assistant program and guest lecturer at NAU Physician Assistant program, teaching students imaging guided procedures.
Brian Shian, MD, FHM, is a graduate of Southwest Medical University in China. He was trained in Orthopedic Surgery at Southwest Medical University Hospital. He came to the United States later and studied medicine at University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine through the Physician Assistant program. After working in Emergency Medicine for a year, he returned to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, selected as one of “Best Hospitals in America.” He completed his Family Medicine residency training there, where he has been practicing since 1991. Dr. Shian’s practice focuses on hospital medicine, procedural and preventive care. He is a clinical associate professor at University of Iowa College of Medicine and a fellow in Hospital Medicine. He has received annual teaching awards for the past 7 years consecutive years. Dr. Shian is board certified in Family Medicine and with a Designation of Focused Practice in Hospital Medicine (DFPHM) by the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM), in conjunction with the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). His interests also include fishing and biking.
Robert E. Kollpainter, PA-C, FAPACVS, RDMS, CAQ in CVTS. Mr. Kollpainter received his training as a Physician Assistant from Western Michigan University, completed the Butterworth Hospital/Western Michigan University Post-Graduate Surgical Residency, and holds a CAQ in Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery. He is the Lead Cardiovascular Physician Assistant at Aspirus Wausau Hospital and has practiced there since 1997. He has been involved with all aspects of endoscopic vessel harvesting and has one of the largest known harvesting experiences; having lectured/taught endoscopic harvest techniques extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and India. Mr. Kollpainter has been involved with Point-of-Care-Ultrasound (POCUS) since 2005 and received his credentials as a Diagnostic Medical Sonographer in 2008. He is very active teaching Critical Care POCUS throughout the Physician Assistant profession and is the Education/Co-Course Director for the Aspirus Physician Assistant POCUS Internship Program. Mr. Kollpainter has vast experience with all aspects of line placement and recently represented the American Association of Physician Assistants in the revision of the “AIUM Practice Parameter for the Use of Ultrasound to Guide Vascular Access Procedures”. He has a specific interest in protocols for POCUS evaluations.
Hong Wang, MD, PhD, FASE, FASA. Dr. Wang attended the Peking University School of Medicine in Beijing, China. She received her PhD from the Department of Physiology at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Dr. Wang completed her Anesthesiology residency and was Chief Resident at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit Michigan in 2000. She is board certified with the American Board of Anesthesiology and Advanced Perioperative TEE. Dr. Wang serves the Department as Professor and Vice Chair of Clinical Operations, which oversees the Department’s clinical activities, coordinates the daily operative suite schedule. She is a cardiac anesthesia team member that provides and directs anesthesia to patients undergoing open-heart procedures in conjunction with cardiothoracic surgeons. Dr. Wang is the director of Department’s Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS). She has established the POCUS training for the anesthesia residents and participated in the WVU medical student ultrasound training. She has passed the inaugural board exam, Examination of Special Competence in Critical Care Echocardiography (CCEeXAM), administered by the National Board of Echocardiography in conjunction with nine other partnering organizations. Dr. Wang is currently the President of The Chinese American Society of Anesthesiology (CASA).
Steffen Sammet, MD, PhD, DABR, DABMRS, FAMP. Dr. Sammet is an Associate Professor of Radiology and Medical Physics at the University of Chicago. He is the Director of Clinical Magnetic Resonance Physics and the Associate Program Director of the Clinical Imaging Medical Physics Residency Program at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Dr. Sammet completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, in physics, mathematics, and chemistry. He continued his graduate studies in physics at the University of Heidelberg completing his M.S. and achieving magna cum laude distinction in his Ph.D. degree. Following his doctoral work in physics, Dr. Sammet completed his medical degree magna cum laude at the University of Heidelberg Medical School. He has a business administration certificate in total quality management (TQM) from the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany, and a certificate of achievement of the Academy of Radiology Leadership and Management (ARLM), where he is also listed on the honor roll. Dr. Sammet is board certified by the American Board of Radiology (ABR) in diagnostic radiological physics and by the American Board of Magnetic Resonance Safety (ABMRS). He also holds a medical physics board certificate and a medical license in Germany. Dr. Sammet has extensive experience in translational research and serves as principle investigator for several extramural and intramural grants that focus on the development of novel MRI and Ultrasound techniques. He is a research mentor to graduate students in his research lab at the University of Chicago and he has won multiple research and teaching awards. Dr. Sammet is also a member of the faculty at the University of Chicago Center for Global Health and has established an educational neuroradiological imaging program in Ibadan, Nigeria through an NIH/NINDS funded R25 training grant where he served as principal investigator. He also developed a summer school program for Medical Imaging Physics in China during a visiting professorship at Xidian University in Xi’an, China.
Dr. Peh Wee Ming MBBS (Singapore), MRCP (UK). Dr. Peh Wee Ming is a consultant in General Internal Medicine and Intensive Care Medicine in the Seng Kang General Hospital Singapore. He obtained his MBBS from the National University of Singapore in 2011. He obtained his MRCP (UK) in 2014 and MRCP(Acute Medicine) in 2016. He obtained his specialist accreditation in Internal Medicine in 2017 after graduating from the Singhealth Advance Internal Medicine Residency Program. He underwent additional sub-speciality training in intensive care medicine and obtained his specialist accreditation in Intensive Care Medicine in 2019.
His specific interest in internal medicine and intensive care medicine is point of care ultrasonography and bedside ultrasound-guided procedures, having obtained his certification of completion from the Society of Hospital Medicine and American College of Chest Physicians.
Dr. Ming is a clinical lecturer for the Duke-NUS Medical School and a core faculty member of the Advanced Internal Medicine Training program for Singhealth and keen to advance point-of-care ultrasound for both internal medicine and intensive care medicine in Singapore.
If you are interested in partnering with the POCUS Certification Academy, please contact us at POCUS@APCA.org.
Participate in Setting Global POCUS Standards
Help us define the future! We need your your insights to help us scientifically develop a list of the top 25 point-of-care ultrasound protocols and procedures used worldwide. We would so appreciate it if you would participate in our POCUS25 Survey today!