Aiea, HI
The highly skilled professional who performs ultrasound examinations in a clinical facility is known as a sonographer, ultrasonographer, or ultrasound technologist. There are various specialties within the field that include the abdomen, obstetrics and gynecology, vascular, and echocardiography. The sonographer is a key member of the health care team that provides individualized care to a variety of patients utilizing highly technical instrumentation to create and interpret images of the internal organs, tissues, and blood flow. You can find information about ultrasound technician schools in Aiea below.
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What are the Job Responsibilities?
Sonographers use special equipment to produce and record images showing the shape, motion, and composition of a patient’s internal anatomy, which can include organs and other bodily tissues, blood, abnormal masses, and fluid accumulations. They generally have responsibilities such as:
Before the Exam
- Preparing and maintaining imaging equipment
- Accurately recording a patient’s medical history
- Explaining procedures to a patient and answering any questions
- Transferring a patient to an appropriate exam table and positioning him or her properly for the procedure
- Scrubbing a patient’s skin in the area to be examined
- Applying gel that aids the ability of sound waves to show the inside of a patient’s body
During the Exam
- Making necessary adjustments to equipment during an exam in order to produce the best images for a doctor’s use in diagnosis
- Altering the position of a patient to get the best angle
- Analyzing images for quality
- Identifying any differences between normal and abnormal areas
- Deciding whether or not to extend the scope of an exam based on initial findings
After the Exam
- Detailing preliminary findings for a patient’s doctor
- Maintaining detailed patient records
Sub-specialties
The specific areas of patient anatomy that sonographers examine depend on their chosen sub-specialties, which can include:
- Abdominal – anything in the belly area, including nearby organs
- Breast – breast tissue and tumors
- Neurologic – the brain and nervous system
- Obstetric/gynecologic – the female reproductive system and pregnancies
- Musculoskeletal – muscles, ligaments, joints, and tendons
- Cardiac – the heart
- Vascular – blood vessels
What are the Different Job Titles?
A sonographer is the same thing as an ultrasound tech. There is no difference. In fact, depending on their place of employment and special area of practice, they can also have job titles such as:
- Diagnostic medical sonographer
- Ultrasound technologist
- Ultrasound technician
- Ultrasonographer
- Diagnostic cardiac sonographer
- Cardiac sonographer
- Echocardiographic technician
- Vascular sonographer
What are the Requirements to Become Ultrasound Tech I Should Know About in Aiea
The requirements you should be aware of before pursuing a career in sonography are fairly straightforward. Here are the most important points to keep in mind about the credentials you’ll need:
Ultrasound Technician School in Aiea
Certification and Licensing
- Employers in this field generally prefer to hire people with professional certification.
- Some states require licensure. This usually requires professional certification, but requirements vary from state to state.
Becoming Professionally Certified in Aiea
Here is what you should know about professional certification:
Know the Organizations
- The most-recognized certification organizations are the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS), the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT), and the Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI).
- The ARDMS offers certification exams to become a Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer (RDMS), a Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer (RDCS), or a Registered Vascular Technologist (RVT).
Choose Your Sub-specialties
- If you choose to become certified through the ARDMS, you will get to choose one or more sub-specialties to be tested on. As an RDMS, for example, you can be certified in one or more of the following areas: Abdomen (AB), Breast (BR), Fetal Echocardiography (FE), Neurosonology (NE), or Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN).
Pass the Exams and Stay Certified
- In order to become certified, you must meet a few basic prerequisite requirements (such as having a relevant degree), and then you’ll need to pass one or more exams.
- Staying professionally certified requires ongoing continuing education.
Ultrasound Technician Career Overview in Aiea
Education | Associate’s degree is most common; certificate and bachelor’s degree programs also available |
Certification | Professional certification may be required or preferred by some employers |
Projected Job Growth (2014-2025) in Aiea | 47% |
Median Salary (2014)* (Aiea) | $62,858 |
How do I Choose an Ultrasound Technician Program in Aiea?
Accreditation – The accrediting body for medical sonography programs is the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health/Education Programs (CAAHEP). The CAAHEP has accredited 150 programs, including those offered by colleges and universities, as well as some hospital training programs. Though attending an accredited program is not the only way to become a medical sonographer in Aiea, it does automatically qualify graduates to sit for the certifying exam and is universally recognized by employers.
Admissions Requirements – Make sure to research the admissions requirements of programs that interest you. Vocational, associate and bachelor’s programs may specific courses in math, health, and/or sciences.
Career Goals/ Specialization – Because specialization is so common in sonography, be sure that your program of choice offers your desired specialty. Vascular and cardiac sonography are two particularly specialized programs that not all schools offer.
Curriculum – Look over the program curriculum and make sure that yours provides plenty of hands-on experience. Because sonography is a very hands-on, technical profession, this might be the most important part of your education.
Average Salary Of An Ultrasound Technician in Aiea
Just like the other employment, the salary of a diagnostic medical sonographer in Aiea also varies depending on several factors. If you have more education and experience, you will get a higher income. Specialization is the other important determining factor of the salary of sonographers. Geographical area and place of work are the other major factors.
The average annual income of these professionals in Aiea is around $61,969. The average hourly income is approximately $33.10. The highest paying professionals can earn more than $82,437 per year, while the entry level salary is around 426,981 per annum.
You can increase your income gradually after acquiring more work experience. Completion of an accredited degree program is the other method to increase your salary. Experienced ultrasound technicians will get some privileges like insurance, medical benefits, and many more facilities.
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