SPI Study Tips Archives - My Ultrasound Tutor

Setting and Maintaining a Study Plan for Ultrasound Registry Exams

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When you are preparing for an ARDMS, CCI, or ARRT exam, your schedule will be an essential factor in maintaining the consistency you need for the best results. At My Ultrasound Tutor, we’ve always encouraged students to make their registry exams their primary focus over a short period of about three months rather than trying to learn little bits of information here and there over a long period of time.

How to Set a Workable Study Schedule

One of the key factors involved in being able to prepare rapidly for the exam is simply setting aside enough time to do it. Our recommendation is one hour per day. Now, before you say that’s too much or think about changing careers, let’s see how you can fit an hour of studying each day into the regularly busy schedule of someone who already has a career and a family (and students can apply some of these same principles).

Scheduling Tips

Here is just one possible example of how to fit an hour of studying into your day:

Take 20 minutes with your morning coffee to review some vocabulary terms
Take 20 minutes of your lunch break to study some equations – focus on the relationships (direct or inverse)
Take 20 minutes before bed to go over topics like anatomy, pathology or machine settings

Remember, this is just a sample to prove to you that you can do it. The key is consistency, and that means finding an exam preparation schedule that works for you. You’ll only stick to it if you combine the right motivation with the right schedule. For more tips, see our article about how to find time to study.

Get the Help You Need to Prepare for a Registry Exam

Of course, you can spend some of that scheduled time reviewing the notes, watching the videos, and taking the practice exams that come with our online registry review courses, which are now available for Ultrasound Physics, Vascular, OB/GYN, and Abdomen. These self-guided courses help you tackle studying in just a few months, so you can pass those registry exams and get back to your life!

And remember, even while taking the self-guided online courses, we’re always here when you need us. Our review courses simply offer you the opportunity to move at your own pace, study on your own schedule, and save money over private tutoring sessions.

How Hard Is it to Pass the SPI Exam?

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How hard is it to pass the SPI exam? That question may be on your mind if you are an ultrasound tech looking to get certified. You may have even found this article by searching that question on Google. It’s a reasonable question to entertain going into the ARDMS exam.

Passing the exam is a significant milestone, and there may be pressure for you to pass it as soon as possible. This can naturally lead to some test anxiety. We will try to answer the question in as straightforward a manner as possible. However, the answer will vary depending on a couple of factors.

Here is a better question to help gauge your chances of success: Can I use the physics principles of sound to solve problems?

If the answer is yes, great! You will likely not find the SPI exam hard to pass. If you aren’t sure, let’s break it down so you can get a better idea of what is needed to pass the ARDMS SPI exam.

How Well Do You Know Ultrasound Physics?

This is not most people’s favorite subject, but the answer can tell you a lot about how you will fare when you take a registry exam. So what does it mean to ‘know’ ultrasound physics? Basically, you need to know the vocabulary, relationships, and principles. This primarily involves some memorization. However, memorization is not enough to pass in itself. In fact, if that is all you have, it will likely be hard to pass the SPI exam. The other key is understanding how to use what you have learned in order to solve problems.

Let’s illustrate this fact:

Imagine you have just learned two phrases, two basic principles: (1) Summer is hot, (2) Winter is cold. Okay, so let’s use the information to answer a couple of questions:

Which season is hot?
Which season requires that people wear warm clothing?

Here we have two types of questions that involve varying degrees of problem-solving. The first one is direct, and you can get the answer from the statement from the first statement – Summer is hot – so the answer to question 1 is Summer.

Now the second question is a little different. First, it is not that direct – it uses none of the words found in our statements. It doesn’t say summer or winter or hot or cold. So how would you go about answering the question?

You need to really know what it means to be hot and what it means to be cold. Then you can use that information to answer the question. People wear warmer clothing when it’s cold outside. That helps us come to the correct answer: Winter.

Now if I asked you if these questions were challenging, what would you say? Probably, you feel they were pretty easy. Well, this is how the ARDMS SPI exam is. If you really understand the information, it won’t be that hard. If you do not understand the concepts, the SPI will likely prove a bit more challenging. Additionally, you do need to employ some problem-solving techniques that often go beyond a direct question.

How Hard Is It to Pass Our SPI Course?

If you feel you could use some help really understanding and effectively utilizing the ultrasound physics principles you are learning, feel free to contact us or enroll in one of our online courses. Our online registry review courses are designed to fit into your busy schedule. And don’t worry – if you have trouble passing a lesson exam and moving on to the following video, we’re always here to help!