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Ultrasound Technicians

What is Ultrasound?

Ultrasound is a form of non-invasive medical imaging, which uses transducers and high-frequency sound to image a patient's internal organs, tissues, and blood flow for the purpose of diagnosis. Diagnostic ultrasound is also referred to as sonography or ultrasonography.

Ultrasound Technician Schools

What are my ultrasound tech school options?

• Ultrasound technicians pursue their training at vocational schools as well as four-year colleges and universities. Certificates and two-year associate's degrees can be earned through vocational training programs, while a bachelor's degree can be earned at a university. Most ultrasound technician certificate programs are more than 12 months.
• Admission requirements vary depending on the ultrasound tech school. All programs require a high school diploma or GED equivalency. Some also require interviews, entrance assessments, and prior allied health experience and credentials.
• Note that the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (ARDMS), the leading credentialing body for ultrasound technicians, only recognizes one accrediting organization: the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP).
• Students who attend non-CAAHEP-accredited ultrasound technician schools can sit for the ARDMS certifying exam after completing a year of work experience under the auspices of the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (SDMS).

What is the curriculum at ultrasound technician school?

• Expect coursework and hands-on training in a wide range of topics, including: sonographic physics and instrumentation, gray scale and color-flow Doppler sonography, human anatomy and physiology, medical terminology and ethics, and the basics of obstetric and gynecologic sonography.
• It's also good to note that a number of ultrasound schools also require that you complete an unpaid clinical externship in a professional ultrasound facility, working with professional sonographic professionals.

What will my certificate or degree prepare me to do?

• Most certificate and degree programs at ultrasound technician schools prepare students for entry-level jobs in the field.
• More senior jobs in specialized areas of diagnostic medical sonography, such as obstetric and gynecologic sonography; abdominal sonography; diagnostic cardiac sonography (heart); vascular technology (hemodynamics, blood flow); neurosonology (brain and spinal cord); and ophthalmology or ophthalmic biometry (eye) require a four-year bachelor's degree.