Reaching a top position in a career that is satisfying can be a lofty goal. For this reason, when it comes to making a choice of a career, we tend to give attention primarily to the type of work that gives us our happiness and our personal interests. With recent improvements in medical care and the increasing need for certified staff to cope with analytic technology, a career as a sonography professional is one of a selection of medical careers worth considering.
Ultrasound or sonography comes under the umbrella of medical care diagnostics. The primary obligation of a diagnostic medical sonographer is operate ultrasound equipment in the examination of people who have need for a medical exam without internal intrusion. The sonographer operates the diagnostic equipment in such a was in order to achieve the ideal images required by the medical staff. The resultant images are used to diagnose the ailment, and suggest a solution.
The sonographer assists the patient on and off the examination table and aids them in the arrangement of their body in order to achieve the best images required. He/she communicates with the patient, answering questions as they come up and reassuring them that they are in good hands. Ultrasound professionals understand the information collected for further evaluation. In addition to this, they stay current with developments in new techniques and technology that is relevant to their work.
An ultrasound technician professional may be employed at medical facilities, diagnostics labs or even open a private facility. The educational qualifications and prerequisites differ based on the job role you wish to achieve after graduation. Training involves either a 2 year(Associate degree) or 4 year (bachelor degree) programs. Along with training in a specialization, training programs also deal with how to better manage patients and work with others in a medical environment. As a potential student, one must ensure that the program provided by an college or university is accredited by the industry governing bodies. In this case that is the CAAHEP and the ARDMS. Without that accreditation, a graduate my have serious difficulty finding satisfying employment. The accreditation signifies that the training program meets or exceeds the industry standards for quality, along with providing adequate a minimal number of hands-on training in a hospital environment.
Areas of Specialization
While training you can choose to specialize in one of the following areas:
· Obstetrics and Gynecology: Ultrasound owes its public popularity to the department of obstetrics and gynecology. Sonographers in this specialization capture images of the development of the fetus during pregnancy.
· Neurosonography: Concerns the condition of the nerves and and brain as a means to diagnose problems and offer potential solutions.
· Echocardiography: Deals with issues of the heart, and vessels and veins in the body by scanning them and measuring blood flow.
· General and Heart Sonography: The measurement of blood flow through the network of vessels and veins as a way to diagnose blood flow issues.
· Abdominal Sonography: Deals with organs of the abdomen including the stomach, gall bladder, pancreas, kidney, and liver.
· Breast Sonography: These specialists deal with issues of the breast, primarily as a diagnostic tool in the fight against breast cancer in women.
· Ophthalmic (Eyes)A sonographer in this area deals with all issues of the eye and works closely with optometrists and opthalmic medical professionals.
Salary and Job Outlook
The diagnostic medical sonographer is one of the top 10 careers as far as entry level remuneration goes. The wage is influenced by the choice of specialization, years of experience, work setting and geographic location . The job outlook for sonography professionals is also good and is predicted to grow quickly in the future.
By watching the job boards on-line a person can get an idea of the current stated of the job market for sonographers and judge what the situation might be upon graduation. That being said, at the moment of this writing the state of California seems to have the greatest need, with Florida coming in a close second.
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