FMC Frequently Asked Questions
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About FMC
The Perinatal Quality Foundation (PQF) grew out of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) and is now an independent affiliate of SMFM. The Foundation Board of Directors is composed of some of the most respected clinicians in Maternal Fetal Medicine.
The mission of the Perinatal Quality Foundation is to improve the quality of Obstetrical services. The Fetal Monitoring Credentialing task force, appointed by the Board of Directors, was tasked with developing the examination. Experts in nursing, nurse-midwifery, and Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) were involved in developing the exam questions. The questions underwent rigorous testing and statistical validation by numerous experts and data participants.
Starting from December 2023, Inteleos assumed operation of the FMC program.
Inteleos is a global non-profit community of over 150,000+ medical professionals united in assuring that patients obtain the highest quality healthcare. For more than 45+ years, Inteleos has defined excellence through quality patient care and certification. Inteleos is the governing and managing organization for the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography® (ARDMS®), the Alliance for Physician Certification & Advancement™ (APCA™), and the Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) Certification Academy™. The Inteleos Foundation oversees the philanthropic work for the organization.
The examination is available to physicians, nurse practitioners, midwives, nurses, other perinatal clinicians, and institutions who are involved in the management of labor and delivery patients.
Visit the NCC website, click Maintain Your Certification on the right side, and select the Subspecialty Certifications maintenance link. Detailed instructions and the EFM maintenance catalog are provided there.
Language from NCC’s website: NCC accepts completion or maintenance of the Inteleos Fetal Monitoring Credentialing program to maintain your EFM certification if completed during your maintenance cycle. You must upload the Inteleos certificate of completion showing the date this was completed in your maintenance application. Although Inteleos does not offer CE, please put in 15 hours to complete your application.
No, promo codes do not expire; however, a provider’s registration for the exam may be affected if the balance is insufficient.
Customer Service is available via e-mail at fmc@inteleos.org.
Exam Info
Script Concordance Test (SCT) is an innovative approach to clinical reasoning assessment. This method of testing includes questions that offer participants an answer key in the form of a 5-point Likert scale, allowing for more than one answer to be acceptable. SCT provides a direct approach for testing the organization of clinical knowledge and how well it is applied in authentic and ambiguous clinical scenarios. All unanswered questions are considered incorrect answers.
The exam has two types of questions which assess both knowledge and judgment. Knowledge questions require specific correct answer(s), typically based on specific definitions, nomenclature, or physiological facts. They can be used to measure any number of specific teaching objectives.
NOTE: Any questions left unanswered will be considered incorrect.
Your examination results, along with an analysis of the knowledge and judgement questions, will be accessible in your account through the Inteleos FMC website within 3 hours of completing the exam.
Upon starting the exam, participants will be required to watch a demonstration and complete the required attestations.
Please note: There is no back button available, meaning you cannot skip questions or review answered questions. The questions are randomized with each exam attempt.
This exam is NOT open book.
Any questions left unanswered will be considered incorrect.
Initial exam: $150; recredential fee: $75
Hospital purchase:
Contact FMC (Volume discounts may apply)
Sign back into your account on the Inteleos FMC website. Navigate to the summary page and click on the button that will lead you to your results.
The following outlines the exam retake policy and associated fees:
Exam Retake Policy & Fees:
- Failed First Exam: No cost to retake the exam.
- Failed Second Exam & Beyond: A $75 fee applies for each subsequent retake.
Be sure to check out FMC Exam Question Examples and Resources for study guide references.
Credentialing Process
The following outlines the exam retake policy and associated fees:
Exam Retake Policy & Fees:
- Failed First Exam: No cost to retake the exam.
- Failed Second Exam & Beyond: A $75 fee applies for each subsequent retake.
Be sure to check out FMC Exam Question Examples and Resources for study guide references
The exam must be completed within 120 minutes.
Once the exam begins, there is NO option to pause. Participants may take the exam in their own time (available 24/7). A stable internet connection and a computer are required to access the exam. The exam consists of 70-80 questions. There is a countdown counter that is displayed.
No, you will not receive CME credits.
The protocol for an employer (Practice Administrator) to view or confirm certification on the website is as follows:
During registration, a user can apply using a promo code OR the user must select the hospital affiliation and make payment using either a personal or company credit card. It is crucial that they ensure the option “May we send your exam results to your hospital affiliation?” is checked in their user profile.
Support
Credentialing will remain current for a period of 3 years after successfully passing the exam. The certificate indicates the duration of its validity.
Within a three-year period from the time the examination is passed, a participant may take a recredentialing examination at half of the original cost. You may begin taking the examination at the end of year two. The recredentialing examination will have fewer questions than the full examination. After three years participants will be required to take the full examination.
The recredentialing examination will have fewer questions than the full examination. After three years participants will be required to take the full examination.
Customer Service is available via e-mail at fmc@inteleos.org.
If there is a disruption (e.g., a server reboot or internet outage), your progress should be saved, allowing you to log back in and continue the exam within 2 hours. However, if the disruption lasts longer than 2 hours, the system will mark the exam as failed. In such cases, please contact the administrator at fmc@inteleos.org to reset your exam status and enable a retake.
Before starting the examination, please ensure you are in a quiet, distraction-free location for the entire duration of the exam. The exam must be completed within 120 minutes in one sitting, without breaks.
