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| ** Important News: CPAS, CPIA, and CPSA Exams Now Available ** |
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There are typically two different career tracks by which professionals end up as a System Administrator, i.e. either from the technical (IT) or clinical (e.g. RT) profession. One must prove to be proficient in both the clinical and technical areas before achieving CPAS certification (compare with the "GMAT" for an MBA). For example, a RT needs to have basic computer administration and networking knowledge, while a person with an IT background needs to know basic medical terminology as well as basics of digital imaging. Once achieving CPAS certification, one can proceed to take the CPIA and/or the CPSA certification. For individuals wishing to achieve our highest certification, CPSM, they must first pass the CPIA and CPSA exams.
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| Certification Consists of Four Components |
- Certified PACS Associate (CPAS): This certification is achieved by passing the 2 exams listed below.
- CPAS-Technical: Individuals are able to demonstrate their knowledge of general technical skills.
- CPAS-Clinical: Individuals are able to demonstrate their knowledge of general clinical skills.
- Certified PACS Interface Analyst (CPIA): Individuals are able to demonstrate their knowledge about DICOM/HL7, including troubleshooting.
- Certified PACS System Analyst (CPSA): Individuals are able to demonstrate their knowledge about PACS components and system administration.
- Certified PACS System Manager (CPSM): This is the "capstone" certification, the candidate will be both CPIA and CPSA and, in addition, have advanced and detailed knowledge about advanced subjects such as image quality, security, IHE and advanced standards development, both DICOM and HL7.
As shown below in the figure, a person will need to be able to demonstrate their clinical and technical knowledge before achieving CPAS certification. After proving their proficiency in the technical and clinical aspects of PACS, individuals can proceed to take the CPIA and/or CPSA exams. After CPIA and CPSA certified, they can advance to take CPSM exam.
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| Exam Details |
The CPAS-Technical and CPAS-Clinical exams each consist of at least 50 multiple choice questions and have a 30 minute time limit. The CPIA, CPSA and CPSM exams each consist of at least 100 multiple choice questions and have a 1 hour time limit. All exams require a minimum 70% score for passing. Upon failing, a candidate can take the exam two more times within 365 days at no additional of charge. If the candidate does not pass on the third try, he must purchase a 2nd approval to try again. The exam questions will be selected randomly from a pool of questions, therefore providing always unique, different questions for the majority of the cases.
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