Many courses overcharge for level II and III training by incorporating a hidden fee to achieve level I training. At Cardiac-CTA.com, level I training is included in our level II 4 day course at no extra charge. See COCATS guidelines below.

COCATS Training Guidelines

The training required for level 2 (required to perform and interpret cardiac CTA) and for level 3 (required to run a cardiac CTA laboratory is 2 and 6 months respectively.  However, it is recognized that most physicians in practice may not have the luxury of a 2 to 6 month hiatus dedicated to CTA training.  For this reason, a prior experience clause exists for those physician already in practice who seek CTA certification.  This clause permits certification without the time requirement provided the training is complete by July 1, 2010.  This clause contains 3 components.  The first component involves CME.  Level 2 certification requires 20 CME hours and level 3 training requires 40 CME hours.  The second component involves mentored cases (cases read by the trainee with the benefit of an over read by a level 2 or 3 certified reader).  Level 2 training requires 100 mentored cases and level 3 training requires 200 mentored cases.  The last component involves live cases where the trainee is physically present at the scanner while the scan occurs.  Level 2 certification mandates 50 live cases while level 3 training requires 100 live cases.  Thus, the prior experience clause requires a total of 150 cases for level 2 certification and 300 for level 3 certification.  Practitioners can qualify for training under this clause if they complete the training prior to July 1, 2008 and have completed an ACGME-approved radiology or nuclear medicine residency or cardiology fellowship or at least two months of formal training in CTA.  Further information and the entire COCATS document may be found on the SCCT website www.scct.org .  When training credentials are complete, the SCCT offers a certification verification process which may be found on their website link above.

ACCF/AHA Clinical Competency Statement on Cardiac Imaging with Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance:
http://www.acc.org/qualityandscience/clinical/competence/imaging/index.pdf

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