- Diagnostic Findings (36%) and Sonographic Findings (30%) together make up two-thirds of the official content outline.
- You must attest to 25 second/third-trimester POCUS cases within the preceding two years.
- Two peer evaluators with clinical ultrasound backgrounds are required; the first two anonymous responses are used.
- The standard fee is $150 USD; POCUS Fundamentals is a separate $125 unless waived.
What This Credential Is (and Isn't)
This cheat sheet covers one credential only: the POCUS - Obstetrics Second/Third Trimester (OB-2/3T) certificate from the Point-of-Care Ultrasound Certification Academy, part of Inteleos. It is delivered as an issuer-operated online assessment through myPOCUS. It is not the ARDMS OB/GYN credential, the Canadian CPoCUS 3OB, or CP-MFH, and none of those programs' rules, fees or content apply here.
If you are still orienting yourself, the explainers at What Is OB-2/3T? and What Is OB-2/3T Certification? cover the basics. This page is the compressed version: the facts you should be able to recite before you register.
Fast Facts Table
| Item | What the issuer sources state |
|---|---|
| Issuer | Point-of-Care Ultrasound Certification Academy (part of Inteleos) |
| Delivery | Issuer-operated online assessment via myPOCUS |
| Standard fee | $150 USD (eligible-country reductions and group pricing available) |
| POCUS Fundamentals | $125 unless waived |
| Required components | Clinical-case assessment plus a separate peer assessment |
| Completion window | Both components within 90 days of registration |
| Question types | Multiple-choice and hotspot questions with ultrasound media |
| Case count (Credly badge) | Seven simulated clinical cases (not seven questions) |
| Retakes | Two total attempts; 30-day wait; apply within 90 days of failure |
| Validity | Five years |
| Renewal | Attestation, relevant knowledge check and $50; can begin six months before expiration |
For the full money picture, including how Fundamentals interacts with the exam fee, see the OB-2/3T certification cost breakdown.
Eligibility Checklist
Before you pay anything, confirm each of these items:
- Active healthcare practice and good standing.
- POCUS Fundamentals, or a waiver through a Sonography Principles and Instrumentation (SPI) exam passed within five years or a current ARDMS/APCA credential.
- 25 cases attested. You attest to performing and participating in interpretation of 25 second/third-trimester POCUS cases within the preceding two years.
- Two peer evaluators with a clinical ultrasound background who know your content-specific imaging abilities.
- Timing rule: Academy policy requires a first content-specific certificate within three years of Fundamentals, except after a content-specific certificate has been earned and maintained.
The complete prerequisite walkthrough lives in OB-2/3T Requirements: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
Format: Cases, Media and Peer Assessment
Clinical-case assessment
The assessment is built around simulated clinical cases. The issuer's Credly badge describes seven of them, and the official outline specifies multiple-choice and hotspot questions that use ultrasound media. In practice, that means you are reading images and clips, not just recalling definitions. A hotspot item asks you to identify a location on an image, so you need to recognize structures rather than recite their names.
Peer assessment
The peer assessment is a separate required component. Both components must be completed within 90 days of registration, and assessments can be stopped and resumed. The FAQ's guidance of 20-30 minutes per case is planning guidance, not a fixed examination timer.
Rules to remember
- Confidentiality/NDA rules apply, so do not share or reconstruct exam content.
- The outline's video-submission section applies only when you are enrolled in a specialty certification. It is not a third component of this standalone clinical certification.
- You must pass all required assessment components.
To gauge how this format feels in practice, read How Hard Is the OB-2/3T Exam?
The Five Weighted Domains
The five domain lines below are the official weighted clinical-case assessment objectives from the issuer-linked Obstetrics 2nd/3rd Trimester Certification Content Outline. They describe what cases assess; they are not a preparation curriculum. Weights total 100%.
| Domain | Weight | Review priority |
|---|---|---|
| Domain 1: Standard POCUS Views | 7% | Quick, high-yield foundation |
| Domain 2: Anatomical Features | 23% | Recognition and landmarks |
| Domain 3: Sonographic Findings | 30% | Core image interpretation |
| Domain 4: Diagnostic Findings | 36% | Largest block; clinical reasoning |
| Domain 5: OB 2nd/3rd Trimester Pathologies | 4% | Small heading, but see note below |
Key Takeaway
Diagnostic Findings (36%) plus Sonographic Findings (30%) equals 66% of the outline. Spend most of your review time on interpreting what you see and deciding what it means clinically.
One subtlety: the 4% pathology heading does not exclude pathology-based reasoning from the diagnostic domains. Expect abnormal findings to appear inside Sonographic Findings and Diagnostic Findings cases even though the dedicated pathology line is small. (The outline's peer Pathology description refers to OB/First Trimester, which appears to be a template carryover and does not change the selected scope.)
For a deeper domain-by-domain treatment, see OB-2/3T Exam Domains: Complete Guide to All 5 Content Areas.
Must-Know Clinical Topics by Domain
The issuer outline assigns the weights; the topics below are the practical second/third-trimester POCUS content a clinician should be comfortable with when working through cases. Treat them as a review prompt list, not as a quotation of the outline.
Domain 1: Standard POCUS Views (7%)
Know the standard windows you would obtain at the bedside and what a complete, interpretable image looks like.
- Transabdominal sweeps in longitudinal and transverse planes
- Fetal lie and presentation relative to the maternal pelvis
- Placental location relative to the internal os
- Basic probe orientation and depth/gain optimization for gravid anatomy
Domain 2: Anatomical Features (23%)
Identify normal structures quickly and reliably, since later findings depend on correct recognition.
- Fetal head, spine, thorax, abdomen and extremities as landmarks
- Cardiac activity and the four-chamber orientation at a point-of-care level
- Placenta, umbilical cord and amniotic fluid as distinct structures
- Maternal anatomy that shapes the view: bladder, uterus, cervix
Domain 3: Sonographic Findings (30%)
Describe what the image shows before assigning a diagnosis. Cases reward careful description.
- Fetal biometry concepts and growth-related observations
- Amniotic fluid assessment, including differentiating normal from reduced or increased volume
- Placental appearance and position, and fetal movement or cardiac activity
- Recognizing artifacts and image-quality limitations
Domain 4: Diagnostic Findings (36%)
The largest domain asks you to turn findings into clinical conclusions and next steps.
- Connecting a sonographic abnormality to its likely clinical significance
- Distinguishing urgent bedside findings from those that warrant formal imaging
- Recognizing when a POCUS exam is limited and deferring appropriately
- Integrating the clinical scenario with the image rather than reading the image in isolation
Domain 5: OB 2nd/3rd Trimester Pathologies (4%)
A small standalone weight, but pathology reasoning also surfaces in the larger diagnostic domains.
- Placental abnormalities and their sonographic appearance
- Fluid-volume disorders and presentation abnormalities
- Findings that signal fetal compromise or demise at the bedside
If you want these topics sequenced into a plan, the OB-2/3T Study Guide walks through preparation in detail, and you can drill image-based items on the main practice test site.
Retakes, Validity and Renewal
Retake policy
- Two total attempts for a content-specific assessment.
- A 30-day wait between attempts.
- Retake application must be made within 90 days of failure.
- If both attempts are exhausted, a one-year wait applies.
- Components you initially passed carry into the first retake.
Validity and renewal
- The credential is valid for five years.
- Renewal requires an active-practice/good-standing attestation, the relevant knowledge check and a $50 fee.
- Renewal can begin six months before expiration.
- Specialty professional-development points do not apply.
Scheduling questions are covered in OB-2/3T Exam Dates: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
What Is Not Publicly Verified
Honesty about gaps is part of a good cheat sheet. In the retrieved public issuer sources, the following were not verified, so treat any specific figure you see elsewhere with suspicion:
- A total number of questions across the whole assessment
- A fixed examination timer
- A numerical passing mark
- A credential-specific pass rate
What is stated is that you must pass all required assessment components, and that scoring methodology is determined by Inteleos Psychometric Services and the PCA Council. For a careful treatment of what is and is not known, see OB-2/3T Passing Score and OB-2/3T Pass Rate: What the Data Shows.
Sequencing Your Review by Domain
Generic study advice matters less here than matching your calendar to the weights. A compact plan that tracks the outline:
Views and anatomy (Domains 1-2, 30% combined)
- Build image-recognition speed with standard views and landmarks
- Review your own logged cases to confirm you meet the 25-case attestation
Describing what you see (Domain 3, 30%)
- Practice stating findings before naming diagnoses
- Work hotspot-style questions that require locating structures on images
Clinical reasoning (Domain 4, 36%, plus pathology)
- Walk through full simulated cases from image to conclusion
- Fold in pathology review, since it also appears inside the diagnostic domains
Case-length practice and logistics
- Rehearse working through a case in the 20-30 minute planning range
- Confirm your peer evaluators have responded well before the 90-day deadline
Domain 4 sits late in the plan because it depends on the recognition and description skills from the earlier weeks. If you are deciding whether the effort is justified, read Is the OB-2/3T Certification Worth It? and the OB-2/3T Salary Guide for the career side of the decision, and visit the practice test hub when you are ready to test yourself on case-style items.
FAQ
The issuer's Credly badge describes seven simulated clinical cases. That is a count of cases, not questions, and no assessment-wide question total was verified in public issuer sources.
Diagnostic Findings carries the largest weight at 36%, followed by Sonographic Findings at 30%, Anatomical Features at 23%, Standard POCUS Views at 7% and OB 2nd/3rd Trimester Pathologies at 4%.
You need either POCUS Fundamentals ($125 unless waived) or a waiver, such as an SPI exam passed within five years or a current ARDMS/APCA credential. Academy policy also expects a first content-specific certificate within three years of Fundamentals, with the exception noted in the policies.
You must complete both the clinical-case assessment and the peer assessment within 90 days of registration. Assessments can be stopped and resumed, and the 20-30 minutes per case in the FAQ is planning guidance rather than a fixed timer.
You get two total attempts with a 30-day wait, and you must apply for the retake within 90 days of the failure. Components you already passed carry into the first retake, and exhausting both attempts triggers a one-year wait.
For a broader introduction to the credential and its terminology, see OB-2/3T Certification, and use this one-page summary as a pre-registration checklist before you commit your fee and your peer evaluators.