If you find the field of medicine intriguing and desire a career in this lucrative area, you might want to consider a job as a diagnostic imaging technologist. Imaging techs, better known as sonographers, help doctors and nurses do non-invasive forms of imaging to study patients’ internal organs. One of the most well known types is, of course, the x-ray. In many instances, though, the radiation can be harmful to patients, so doctors desire other ways to examine for disease or injury. Sonography is one of the ways to do these internal examinations, because it uses sound waves to create images, it is not as harmful as an x-ray could be.
As a diagnostic medical sonographer, you will utilize special equipment to send the sound waves into patients’ bodies; these waves then create reflected echoes, which are sent to the equipment to form images of the internal organs.
Job:
You will be responsible for explaining the procedures to the patients as well as recording their medical histories. You spread a gel onto the patients’ skin to aid the transmission of the sound waves using a “transducer” (a machine that transmits sound waves). You will then closely examine the images to identify any areas that could be unhealthy. You must then analyze them and present them to the patients’ doctors along with your initial findings.
Many sonographers work in obstetrics and gynecology using ultrasound to check female organs and fetal growth. There are other purposes for sonography, however, including:
- Abdominal sonography (liver, kidneys and other abdominal organs)
- Breast sonography (breast cancer and other problems)
- Cardiac sonography (heart)
- Neurosonography (brain and nervous system)
Salary:
Most sonographers in the U.S. make an annual salary of between $53,000 and $74,000. As an entry level sonographer you could expect to make approximately $43,000; you will earn more when you have gained more experience.
Education:
You can acquire your training at a hospital, vocational school, or the armed forces. You may also consider pursuing your associate’s or bachelor’s degree in sonography as well. You do not need to be licensed in the field of sonography, but the higher your level of education, the more money you can expect to make.
You will likely take courses in the following areas:
- anatomy
- instrumentation
- medical ethics
- patient care
- physics
- physiology
Associations:
- American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
- American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers
- American Society of Echocardiography
- Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers
- Society for Vascular Ultrasound
Fri, Apr 9, 2010
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