Level 2 Clinical Practitioner

Background and Eligibility

This application is for those looking to accredit as a Level 2 Clinical Practitioner in Cardiac CT. Applicants will typically (i) have Level 2 Initial accreditation or existing Level 2 BSCI/BSCCT accreditation; (ii) be practicing clinical cardiac CT routinely; and (iii) be approaching the end of their accreditation period. 

Those applying for their first Level 2 Accreditation should use the ‘Application for Initial Level 2 BSCI Accreditation in Cardiac CT’.

Notes

  1. Clinical Practitioner accreditation is designed for cardiac CT practitioners showing an ongoing commitment to clinical cardiac CT delivery. As such, cases must be accrued in clinical practice; those obtained on Training Courses are not eligible towards the case requirement.  

  2. Occasionally, experienced practitioners may not have applied for accreditation previously and wish to apply for Level 2 Clinical Practitioner accreditation directly. Such applicants may still apply using this form but should note the additional mandatory requirements outlined below. Applicants may wish to contact the BSCI Accreditation Committee in advance of submitting an application in order to confirm eligibility in principle. Applicants should note that this confirmation does not constitute a guarantee of a successful application upon review.

  3. The onus is on the applicant to demonstrate clearly that they have reached the required standard. Applications that are unclear or do not include all of the required information will be suspended and returned to the applicant for clarification and resubmission. 


Cardiovascular CT clinical activity and CPD requirements

The minimum level of clinical activity that you will be able to demonstrate is 300 cases over the past three years (most will have undertaken considerably more than this). Case experience derived from Training Courses cannot be used to count towards this requirement. You will also have been undertaking relevant CPD and will be able to demonstrate at least 20 hours of Category 1 CPD pertinent to cardiovascular CT over this period. 

Applications are not encouraged before 3 years have elapsed since initial accreditation. However, such applications may be considered where individuals have accumulated the minimum requirements and wish to expedite the process. There will be no reduction in application fee for applications made less than 3 years since Level 2 Initial accreditation. 

  1. Clinical Cases
  • 300 contrast-enhanced cardiac CT acquisitions are required, all of which the applicant must personally supervise (including patient preparation, scan planning, scan acquisition and scan reconstruction), post-process and report. 
  • You must complete the ‘Verification of Hands on Practice’ form, which takes the place of an exhaustive logbook of cases. If desired, a departmental letter using the same form of words may be submitted instead. The form (or letter) must be signed by a practitioner accredited to BSCI/BSCCT Level 2 Clinical Practitioner or Level 3 standard. 
    • BSCI/BSCCT Level 2 Initial accredited practitioners are not eligible to sign this form.
    • The BSCI recognises the accreditation programmes of both the Society of CardiovascularComputed Tomography (SCCT) and European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging(EACVI). Level 2 or 3 accredited cardiovascular CT practitioners from these societies may sign this form. At the discretion of the Accreditation Committee, practitioners accredited by other societies may also be considered eligible.
  • You must provide a logbook of 25 dated, anonymised but otherwise complete cardiovascular CT reports. No patient-identifiable information should be included on these reports.  An example of what is required for these 25 cases is provided here.

     2. 20 hours of Category 1 CPD within 36 months of application

  • All CPD must be pertinent to cardiovascular CT and supported by formal certificates stating the number of CPD hours granted for the activity.
  • If the submitted CPD certificates relate to general or multi-stream meetings, the onus is on the applicant to detail the lectures and modules attended relevant to this application. The applicant will then be credited an appropriate proportion of the CPD value of the meeting certificate.
  • If this detail is not provided and/or, in the view of the Accreditation Committee, the claimed CPD has unclear relevance to cardiac CT accreditation, no credit will be allocated. If the CPD requirement is not met as a result, forms will be returned to the applicant for clarification and resubmission. The application will be suspended in the meantime.


Applicants applying directly for Level 2 Clinical Practitioner accreditation

All cardiovascular CT clinical practitioners must have received core training in the technique and BSCI Level 2 Initial accreditation is designed to evidence this. Applicants without BSCI Level 2 Initial accreditation wishing to apply directly for Level 2 Clinical Practitioner Accreditation must still demonstrate that they have received the same core training by completing this section.

Details of Cardiac CT training must be provided with the application, along with dates of training. 

Two methods are available to evidence core cardiovascular CT training:

  1. Completion of the ‘Verification of core cardiovascular CT training’ form by a practitioner accredited to BSCI/BSCCT Level 2 Clinical Practitioner or Level 3 standard. The form must be completed fully (including membership number of the accrediting body) to be valid. Please click here to download. 
    • BSCI Level 2 Initial accredited practitioners are not eligible to sign this form.
    • The BSCI recognises the accreditation programmes of both the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) and European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI). Level 2 or Level 3 accredited cardiovascular CT practitioners from these societies may sign this form. At the discretion of the Accreditation Committee, practitioners accredited to at least Level 2 standard by other societies may also be considered eligible.
  2. Provision of CPD certificates for lectures, online training and/or courses that demonstrably cover: 
    • Image optimization, radiation dose reduction, and advanced post-processing.
    • Functional assessment with cardiac CT and correlation with other modalities.
    • Bypass graft anatomy and assessment.
    • Coronary artery stent assessment.
    • Assessment of valvular heart disease including TAVI planning.
    • Role of CT in patients with heart failure.
    • Role of CT in pericardial diseases and cardiac masses.
    • The role of CT in evaluation of congenital heart disease.
    • Assessment of non-cardiac (esp lung) pathology included in the wider field of view.

A total of at least 16 hours of CPD must be provided; these may also be used to count towards the general 20-hour CPD requirement for Level 2 Clinical Practitioner Accreditation. 

Applicants accredited by other societies

Applicants with existing Level 2 cardiovascular CT accreditation with either the SCCT or EACVI should include their Accreditation certificates with their application. At the discretion of the Accreditation Committee, practitioners accredited in cardiovascular CT to at least Level 2 standard by other societies may also be considered eligible. In this circumstance, the applicant should provide full details and eligibility criteria of the accrediting body. Applicants must still complete all other relevant sections of the on-line application.

Fees

An application fee must be paid before the application will be considered. A link to pay by credit card will appear once your application has been submitted. Fees are as follows:

Level 2 CP

  • BSCI member £175
  • Non members £250 
  • Applications will be processed within 8 weeks 

Level 2 CP Fast Track

  • BSCI member £275
  • Non member £350
  • Applications will be processed within 2 weeks 

For those submitting a fast track application the 10 day turn around time will only start once all relevant and correct information is provided via the accreditation portal for the reviewers to access

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Please note you will be asked for payment upon creation of an account.

Level 2 and Level 3 Accreditation is limited to Consultants or Specialty Trainees (or Specialty Doctors at an equivalent level) in Radiology and Cardiology only.

Please note the portal is currently unable to upload files larger than 15mb at present. Please scan documents instead of adding images.