Diagnostic
Medical Sonographers: Career Opportunities by Mike Clark A Diagnostic
Medical Sonographer is qualified to provide diagnostic patient care
services using ultrasound and related diagnostic procedures.He or
she takes responsibility to for the operation of sonographic equipment,
and for recording and communicating results to the physician.
The diagnostic medical sonographer is responsible for daily operations
of the sonographic laboratory, patient schedule, equipment maintenance,
the report of equipment failures, and quality assessment.There are
about 42,000 diagnostic medical sonographers in the U.S. Some 60%
of the jobs were in hospitals.
The rest were mainly in offices of physicians or in medical and
diagnostic laboratories.Sonographers may train in hospitals, vocational-technical
institutions, colleges and universities, and the Armed Forces. Some
training programs prefer applicants with a background in science
or experience in other healthcare professions.
College and university training can be either a 2 or 4-year program,
with an associate or a bachelor's degree. Classes include anatomy,
physiology, instrumentation, basic physics, patient care and medical
ethics. In 2005 there were 132 accredited programs. While there
are no state licenses for diagnostic medical sonography, organizations
such as the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography
(ARDMS) certify the competency of sonographers. Many employers prefer
to hire registered sonographers. The ARDMS gives examinations in
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