Ultrasound Technician

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Become an Ultrasound Technician

If you have excellent people and diagnostic skills and want to work in the health care industry, you might consider a career as an ultrasound technician. Ultrasound technicians, or sonographers, are in high demand due to rapidly evolving technological growth in sonography, and technicians are needed to fill emerging positions in hospitals and clinics.

Ultrasound Technician in a Nutshell

An ultrasound technician—or diagnostic medical sonographer—is most often associated with obstetrics and pregnancy, but in truth, these technicians are used to scan everything from tumors to eyes to the nervous system. There are many uses for ultrasound, and the technology is rapidly evolving to include not only diagnostic imaging but also treatment and prevention of certain medical ailments. An ultrasound is often preferred to other sorts of radiology or x-rays because of the safety of the scan technology as well as the attention to detail that it affords.

Some of an ultrasound technician's job responsibilities may include:

Working with patients and walking them through the ultrasound procedure
Recording relevant medical history and maintaining patient records
Directing the patient throughout the procedure
Operating and adjusting the sonography equipment
Reviewing images that will best serve the attending physician's needs

Education Requirements for Ultrasound Technicians

No state requires licensure in diagnostic medical sonography, but the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (ARDMS) certifies the competency of ultrasound technicians through registration. Because registration provides an independent, objective measure of an individual's professional standing, many employers prefer to hire registered technicians.

In order to be eligible for the national certification exam given by the ARDMS, you must have an associate's or bachelor's degree from an accredited program. Upon passing the exam, sonographers become registered diagnostic medical sonographers (RDMS).

Like most medical and health care professionals, ultrasound technicians must take part in continuing education in order to to stay current on technological advances related to the field. Ultrasound Technicians are also required to acquire clinical training with a three-to-six month internship.

Day in the Life of an Ultrasound Technician

Ultrasound technicians spend their workdays dealing with patients and people who are attending ultrasound scanning appointments. They must be professional people with good communication skills, as they will be asked questions by the public as well as other health care specialists, including doctors, surgeons and radiologists.

Technicians may be required to work at night, on weekends and holidays in hospitals and clinics, or may require moderate amounts of travel if they are a technician in a rural area.

Job Growth for Ultrasound Technicians

As the population ages and uses for sonographic technology evolve, demand for ultrasound technicians will expand, so job opportunities for diagnostic medical sonographers are expected to grow much faster than the national average for all specialties through the year 2014.