Education of Ultrasound Technicians

Education of Ultrasound Technicians





An ultrasound technician has to successfully complete a graduate degree in ultrasound technology in order to be able to apply for a job in a private or public hospital. A student who wants to pursue a career in ultrasound technology should undertake a series of steps before he/she could be a success in this medicine career.

Steps in becoming an ultrasound technician

Following are the major hurdles that a student must overcome to become an ultrasound techie:

• Pre-requisites: Some graduate schools want the student to complete certain schooling including a high-school diploma. The student might be required to show good skills in subjects such as physics, biology and mathematics.

• Graduation school: The students must enroll themselves with a reputed graduate school affiliated with CAAHEP (Commission on accreditation of Allied health education programs) and must choose from the various branches associated with ultrasound technology.

• Credit courses: The students must successfully complete all the required credit courses to be able to pass from the graduate school with a good GPA.

• Practical training: Students must build necessary skills needed for actual tasks while using the ultrasound devices because it requires minute analysis of the scanned organ or tissue. This could be achieved through enough practical experience through internships or course curriculum practical. They should also be able to work comfortably with computers and printers.

• Certifications: Upon graduating from the school, a student must undertake some sort of certification from administered organizations such as ARDMS (American Registry for diagnostic medical sonography) to add to their resumes. These certifications could be related to the field of technology in which they would like to work in future; for example- echocardiogram, pelvic ultrasounds and many more.

Types of graduate courses

There are basically 4 types of courses offered by most graduate schools for ultrasound students:

• 4-year course: It provides the graduating students with a bachelor's degree in ultrasound stream. Pre-requisite is a high school diploma.

• 2-year course: It is the most common course today and provides the graduating students with an associate degree. A high school diploma is required for this course as well.

• 1-year course: It provides the graduating students with a vocational degree upon completion. It requires the applicants to have previous work experience in allied health industry as a pre-requisite.

• Online courses: For people who work full time and still want to earn a degree in ultrasound technology, schools offer online degree courses with online content and proctored exams as a part of distance learning.

Upon completion of one of the above mentioned degree programs, the student is then eligible to apply to any hospital or private clinics for a job. The student might have to take a written test or may be an interview before he/she is admitted to the hospital or clinic.