Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Examination (MSK) for Physicians

You will be considered a Re-applicant for the MSK examination if you have previously been approved to sit for it.

To sit for the MSK examination as a Re-applicant, submit the application and payment. Your application will automatically be approved and you will be able to schedule within a day.

You must wait until the next administration to retake the MSK examination if you do not pass it.​

The necessary supporting documentation for the MSK examination must be received at the time of your online application submission.

• Medical License: Copy of a valid medical license in good standing without any conditions or restrictions to practice as an MD, DO, DPM, MBBS, DC, NP, PA, DPT or PT.
• Attestation Letter: Completed third-party attestation form indicating the performance and/or authorized diagnosis of a minimum of 150 musculoskeletal ultrasound studies within the preceding 36 months of application. To download the form, go to APCA.org/MSKAttestation

Note: We do not review application documentation received prior to receipt and payment of the online application.

The MSK examination fee is $660, which includes a $100 USD non-refundable processing fee.  If you take an APCA examination at an international test center (outside the U.S., Canada and Mexico), you will be charged an additional non-refundable $50 USD fee when you schedule your examination. This fee is subject to change without notice.​

If you need special accommodations, please select “Yes” for “Special Accommodations” in the application and submit the following along with your completed application:

• An original copy of a letter dated within the past five years and typed on official letterhead from a qualified physician or health care provider who specializes in the disability. This letter must document the disability and its severity, describe the applicant’s limitation due to the disability and state exactly what accommodations are recommended. The letter must contain an original signature and the physician’s or provider’s credentials.
• An original copy of a comprehensive medical evaluation/report of the diagnosed disability from the physician or health care provider, dated within the past five years.
• A completed Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Special Accommodations Questionnaire​​, which must be submitted each time you apply for an examination.

For more information, visit Americans with Disabilities Act​.​

To reschedule the date and time of your examination during your eligibility period, you must contact Pearson VUE​ (1-877-258-9220) at least 96 hours prior to the scheduled examination date and time.

Please note: This is a windowed examination and extensions are not available.  You can reschedule your appointment for another time within your stated eligibility period.  However, if you cannot take it within your stated eligibility period, please follow the cancellation procedure.

To cancel an examination appointment, you must contact Pearson VUE (1-877-258-9220) and cancel the scheduled appointment no later than 96 hours prior to the scheduled examination appointment time. You will receive a cancellation email from Pearson VUE.

To request a partial refund, you must wait 24 hours after canceling the appointment with Pearson VUE and then submit a cancellation/partial refund request no later than 96 hours prior to the last date of the eligibility period.

To submit this request:

• Log in to your MY APCA​ account.
• Visit “My Examination/Application Status” under “Application Center.”
• Select the examination you wish to request a partial refund for. ​
• Complete and submit the form.

We will refund your examination fee, less the $100 USD processing fee per examination, unless we receive your request too late, you never schedule your examination or you do not keep your scheduled examination appointment. Then, the entire examination and processing fees are forfeited.

Please note: This is a windowed examination and extensions are not available. You can reschedule your appointment for another time within your stated eligibility period. However, if you cannot take it within your stated eligibility period, please follow the cancellation procedure.

When you arrive at a test center, be prepared to:

• Check in with a Test Center Administrator
• Present one valid photo identification (ID); see Test Center Identification Requirements​
• Provide a digital signature
• Have your palm vein scanned
• Take a test-day photograph

Note: The only thing that you can bring into the testing room is you. The test centers have lockers you can use to store personal belongings. Study materials as well as food and drink are prohibited in the test center. No visitors, guests, pets or children are allowed.

Important: Review APCA’s Examination Admission Compliance​ policies to ensure you are not refused admission at the test center and do not conduct unauthorized examination behavior.

Test centers will provide white boards for notes during the examination upon request.

If you need special accommodations, please select “Yes” for “Special Accommodations” in the application when you apply.

Each practice test costs $45 USD.

You can now register for a MSK practice test by signing into your MY APCA​ account and clicking the Sign Up/View Practice Test option in the Application Center tab. You can also view the computer system requirements in your MY APCA portal. For any general questions or technical problems regarding the practice tests, please call APCA at (800) 943-1709  or email practicetests@inteleos.org.

Before your session begins, you should review the test tutorial. Please note you will not get a chance to review the test tutorial during the actual practice test, so please prepare accordingly. Once your session begins, you have 30 minutes to complete the practice test.

Register​ for an MSK practice test, by signing in to your MY APCA account.

The MSK examination covers the following content areas. All percentages are an approximate distribution of the questions across the content areas.

MSK Content Outline​ ​(Please click on “MSK Content Outline” for the detailed Content Outline in PDF-Printable format).

General Sonographic Anatomy [26%]
General Sonographic Pathology [23%]
Ultrasound-guided Interventional Procedures [18%]
Integration of data [7%]
Physics and Instrumentation [26%]

Please note: All percentages are approximate.

Your score report will display and include performance feedback for these content areas.

After all of your diligent preparation and hours spent studying, here are a few valuable tips to help make your examination day a success:

• Double check that you know where the test center is before examination day and give yourself plenty of time to get there. Remember, you MUST arrive and register at least 30 minutes before the examination begins.
• Get a good night’s sleep before you take your examination. Being well rested and relaxed when you take your examination will help you concentrate.
• Bring one form of current and valid identification that complies with the test center identification requirements​​.
• Travel light. The only thing you can bring into the testing room is you. You can store your personal belongings — your car keys, watch, smartphone, purse, backpack, etc. — in lockers at the test center. The following items are not allowed in test centers: study materials, food, drink, visitors/guests, pets and children.
• Request a white board if you plan to jot down notes during the examination. Test centers are using white boards (rather than paper) in an effort to “go green.”
• Be advised that the use of a calculator for this examination is prohibited.  However, you may utilize the White Board provided at the test center or the digital White Board provided for online proctoring examinations for manual calculations.

Good luck!​

Even though we offer practice examinations and sample questions, we do not offer study materials for our examinations – but our sister organizations do. You can find materials at:

• Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography
• American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
• Society for Vascular Ultrasound
• American Society of Echocardiography
• American College of Nursing- Midwives ​

The MSK examination features Advanced Item Types (AIT) questions​​, which assess and measure your practical sonography skills. They include hotspot questions in which you will receive questions about individual images. You will use the cursor to mark the correct answer directly on the image.

Watch the video presented by APCA’s companion organization for sonographers, ARDMS: How to Answer a Hotspot Question.​

Examination results and a full score report will be available approximately 60 days after the close of the examination administration. At that time, an email will be sent to you with instructions on how to access your score report in MY​ APCA​.

Candidates receiving a confirmed passing score on all required examinations and meeting all other requirements will be awarded a certification. For information on the APCA’s scoring methods, visit Notification of Results and Scoring​​.

Candidates who do not pass are invited to re-apply.

You can request a score verification for a $35 USD fee, payable by check, money order or credit card. Score verification ensures that the computer counted the correct and incorrect answers appropriately, but it does not review the questions and answers.

You must submit the completed Exam Score Verification Form​ within 30 days of having taken the examination in question. The Exam Score Verification Form will be returned if incomplete, unsigned or unpaid.

When deciding whether to have your score verified, please consider that APCA examinations are scored electronically with a high degree of accuracy, and it is unlikely that verification will alter your original score.