Frequently Asked Questions

The goal of the Practicum is not to “certify” professionals to perform ultrasounds. Professionals who have an active license as a RN, RDMS, NP, PA, MD, and DO are technically licensed to perform ultrasounds. However, according to AWHONN national guidelines, “Following didactic education and before assuming responsibility for performing scans, competencies must be demonstrated with abilities to perform all the components of a limited OB scan”. NIFLA designed the Ultrasound Practicum to help pro-life medical professionals adhere to these guidelines and develop the necessary skills to be able to scan independently. Once a medical professional attends one of our Practicums, we highly recommend center leadership consider the following checklist before allowing that individual to scan patients at the clinic.

• Has the medical director of the clinic observed the medical professional’s skills and deemed them proficient and allowed to operate under the physician’s license? In the case of a malpractice lawsuit, it would be the medical director’s judgment and license called into question. Your medical director must have confidence in the training and skills of all the center’s medical professionals operating under their license. If the medical director is not available to verify ultrasound competency themselves, they should at least approve of the training and competency assessment completed by the staff member.
• Has the medical professional completed the recommended minimum of 50-75 scans? Please note that the NIFLA Practicum provides approximately 30 scans per attendee. This is going to get you through about half of the estimated hands-on training you will need.
• Has the medical professional passed a competency assessment for abdominal and transvaginal scans? This is especially important if a center’s medical director is not available to directly verify ultrasound competency themselves! NIFLA does not recommend that the centers settle for assessments that do not include transvaginal ultrasounds. In addition, supervisors should always be a RDMS or physician with an OB background, not an RN.

Here are some training options we recommend following the completion of one our Practicums:

• Work with a local RDMS or Physician(with OB background) supervisor at your center or in the supervisor's clinic/hospital setting. It is definitely the most cost-effective option to find a medical professional in your area who is willing to wrap up your training and assess your scanning competencies.
• Work with SoundView Imaging. Their training program allows your new medical personnel to be trained on the machines at your center in a small group setting (1-3 students). You can find out more on their website: https://soundviewimaging.org/
• Attend a second Ultrasound Practicum. If the two options above prove to be a challenge, you can always attend another hands-on training with NIFLA! After two Practicums, it is a lot more likely that you would pass the competency assessment.

The Practicum training costs $1700 per registration. This does not include the cost of the prerequisite, the Basic Institute in Limited Obstetric Ultrasound. Every student that purchases a Practicum registration will get a $500 coupon code in their confirmation email that can be used on any training course of their choice in NIFLA’s online course platform. This means centers can get the total training package (Practicum + the Basic Institute) for $2095. We highly recommend centers purchase the Practicum first and then the online course. Please note that this offer does not work retroactively! The discount cannot be applied to the Practicum registration itself and NIFLA will not issue refunds on any online courses already purchased.

Cancellations of 4 weeks or more:

• Refunds: $175 processing fee will be taken out of your total refund
• Transfer: No charge

Cancellations of 3 weeks or less:

• Refunds: No refunds will be issued
• Transfer: $375 charge to transfer registration to another Practicum date or to another attendee.

Ultrasound Practicum Course Information

You can find them towards the bottom of our Practicum page

If the Practicum you are interested in is full, email [email protected] The Conference Team will put you on the waitlist and let you know if a spot becomes available. Please note that those on the waitlist who have already completed the Institute in Limited Obstetric Ultrasound will be given priority. NIFLA will not reserve spots for future Practicum dates unless the registration fee has already been paid in full. We do not accept partial payments.

• Transfering Attendees: If your center needs to transfer a Practicum registration to a different staff member, please email [email protected] so they can manually register the new attendee ASAP! However, please understand that if the original attendee already completed the Online Ultrasound Institute, a new account/course will have to be purchased and created for the new attendee. If the original attendee got through less than 25% of the Online Ultrasound Institute, NIFLA will transfer the online course access to the new attendee at no charge.
• Transferring Dates: If an attendee would like to transfer to a different Practicum date, contact the NIFLA Conference Team ASAP! If you are submitting the request past the cancellation window, you will need to pay an additional fee before the transfer is finalized.

NIFLA Practicums run for 4 days from 8:00am-5:00pm. The NIFLA Conference Team will provide you with a more detailed schedule after you register. Please note that it is very important that students participate in the entire event! We recommend you make travel arrangements that will not interfere with the course schedule. Arriving late or leaving early any of the Practicum days will result in missing the guaranteed 30-40 scans, fewer continuing education credits, and no competency assessment.

• All attendees will receive a hard copy certificate on the last day of the Practicum.
• All attendees will be required to confirm their name and credentials prior to the event to ensure their certificate is printed with the correct information. Failure to communicate with the conference team on this matter may result in additional fees if the certificate needs to be reprinted.
• Any attendees who leave early, forget their certificates, or lose their certificates will be required to cover the costs of reprinting and shipping. Alternatively, the Conference Team can send the attendee a digital copy of their certificate.
• NIFLA will not issue or replace any copies of certificates for courses that took place 5 years ago or earlier.

• Basic Institute in Limited Obstetric Ultrasound
  • For RNs w/ CEUs - $895
  • For Physicians & Advanced Clinical Providers w/ CMEs - $895
• Directors Institute in Pregnancy Clinic Management - $895
• Advanced Institute in Limited Obstetric Ultrasound - $1050
• RDMS PULSE - $299

• If an attendee has not started the online course or received the course manual:
  • Refunds: $75 processing fee will be taken out of your total refund
  • Transfer: No charge
• If attendee has started the online course or received their course manual:
  • Refunds: No refunds will be issued
  • Transfer: Centers may request that the training be transferred to another attendee if the original attendee completed 25% of the course or less.

• All members taking the Online Basic Ultrasound Institute or Directors Institute will have access to the digital copy of their course manual for free. They can download this manual from their course account at any time.
• All attendees also have the option to order a hard copy of the course manual from the NIFLA office for $75 (includes production and shipping costs). Please note that NIFLA will only produce and ship 1 manual per registered course attendee. We do not allow members to purchase additional copies. Please click HERE if you’d like to place an order.

Basic Institute Course Information

Attendees’ access to the online course begins as soon as the registration fee has been paid. Each course has a different “access period”. Please keep this in mind when registering your staff.

• Basic Institute in Limited Obstetric Ultrasound - 45 days
• Directors Institute in Pregnancy Clinic Management - 45 days or until Zoom Session Date is completed
• Advanced Institute in Limited Obstetric Ultrasound - 90 days

All course registrants are allotted 1 free extension to their course. This one time extension must be used within 1 year of their course completion date or it will be automatically forfeited.

Each purchase is intended for individual access. At the completion of this course, only one certificate will be generated in the name of the registrant.

NIFLA is required to keep an accurate list of attendees to comply with the accreditation standards of the California Board of Education and the Christian Medical and Dental Associations. As such, no sharing or group participation is allowed for this training.

If you use these materials to train personnel other than the original registrant, you will be responsible for a separate registration fee for each new user. Failure to comply may result in the loss of your NIFLA membership.

If your center needs to transfer an online course registration to a different staff member, please email [email protected]. They will manually transfer the account to the new participant. However, If the original attendee already completed the entire course, a new account/course will have to be purchased and created for the new attendee. If the original attendee got through less than 25% of the online course, NIFLA will transfer the online course access to the new attendee at no charge.Transfers are only good for up to one year from the course purchase date. Failure to use your transfer within this time period will result in loss of payment.

All online attendees can download their certificates from their course account once all course content is complete. NIFLA does not print or ship hard copies of certificates for online courses under any circumstances. If you forgot to download your certificate when your course was active, simply contact the NIFLA office to ask for a temporary reactivation.