• Work in hospitals, physicians’ offices and clinics.
• Obtain and record accurate patient history.
• Obtain and record accurate patient history.
• Use specialized equipment that directs high-frequency sound waves into body tissues to produce images of structures inside the body to help physicians diagnose and treat patients.
• Analyze technical information.
• Provide an oral or written summary of technical findings to physician to use in diagnosis.
• Specialty areas include abdomen (gallbladder, bile ducts, liver, kidneys, pancreas and spleen), obstetrics/gynecology (female reproductive system), ecochardiography (the heart, its valves and related blood vessels), vascular, neurosonology (brain and spinal cord), ophthalmology (the eye, orbital structures and muscles).

Education/Training

• Challenging science, math and English courses in high school.
• Sonographers may train in hospitals, vocational-technical schools, colleges and universities, the Armed Forces.
• One-year programs available to health care workers, resulting in a certificate in the field.
• Colleges offer two-year or four-year programs resulting in associate’s or bachelor’s degrees.  Two-year programs most common, with course work in anatomy, physiology, instrumentation, basic physics, patient care, and medical ethics.
• American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers certifies competency through registration.  Registration requires passing a general physics and instrumentation exam, as well as an exam in a specialty, such as OB/GYN, abdominal or neurosonography.
• Once registered, sonographers must complete 30 hours of continuing education every three years to keep registration current.

Salary

• $32,470 - $52,750

More Information

• Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography
  12770 Coit Road, Suite 708
  Dallas, TX 75251-1319
  972-239-7367 or 800-229-9506
  http://www.sdms.org

• The American registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers
  600 Jefferson Plaza, Suite 360
  Rockville, MD 20852-1150
  301-738-8401 or 800-541-9754
  http://www.ardms.org