Cardiac Ultrasound Schools in the US Today
Cardiac sonography is one of four specialties officially recognized by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) with its own training program. While the other specialties – namely general, vascular, and pediatric cardiac sonography – are popular as well, the high salary of cardiac sonographers contributes to the increasing popularity of cardiac ultrasound schools with students. There are currently 70 cardiac ultrasound schools in 2015; you can view a list of accredited schools in 2015 through the linked text.
About Cardiac Sonography As the name suggests, cardiac sonography is focused on one specific area of the body – the circulatory system. The circulatory system is made up of the heart and the blood vessels all over the body. Initially, performing cardiac sonography was very difficult because the procedure (sonography) was created for large areas of space like the abdomen. However, as sonogram technology became more advanced, the development of Doppler ultrasound eventually came to be, allowing sonography to be performed in smaller areas such as blood vessels. |
A general description of the sonography procedure is the use of sound waves in medical imaging. The waves are produced from a handheld transducer which travel through the body and bounce off of solid structures like bones. These signals return to the machine, creating the black and white images found in a traditional ultrasound. Sound waves are perfectly safe to use on the heart and other organs and areas of the body, with no side effects
Find out if you are fit to be a sonographer here by taking a quiz.
Cardiac Ultrasound Salary
Sonographers in the United States are among the highest paid medical careers today. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’s (BLS) most recent report was for 2013, revealing 58,250 sonographers working in the state, earning $67,170 per year. The mean hourly wage was $32.29. Another report released by the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography revealed there were 5,147 registered cardiac sonographers in the US, out of 26,365 total.
Getting Cardiac Ultrasound Education
The CAAHEP website comes with a search engine that allows users to list accredited sonography programs available, specific to the cardiac ultrasound schools that offer them. The 70 schools with cardiac ultrasound programs are spread out all over the country, with the state of Ohio having the most number of schools offering cardiac sonography training – six, to be exact. Texas, New York, and Florida come next, with five schools each offering cardiac sonography training.
Cardiac sonography training can be completed in three different ways based on program length: 1) certificate, 2) associate degree, and 3) bachelor degree. Certificate programs typically take a year, maximum of 18 months to finish. Associate degree and bachelor degree programs take two and four years respectively. Other specialties are also complete the same ways.
If you plan on studying sonography, remember to decide your specialty and program length to make the decision-making process much easier. With numerous programs being made available to students all year round, you can expect the number of cardiac ultrasound schools to increase as well.
Find out if you are fit to be a sonographer here by taking a quiz.
Cardiac Ultrasound Salary
Sonographers in the United States are among the highest paid medical careers today. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’s (BLS) most recent report was for 2013, revealing 58,250 sonographers working in the state, earning $67,170 per year. The mean hourly wage was $32.29. Another report released by the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography revealed there were 5,147 registered cardiac sonographers in the US, out of 26,365 total.
Getting Cardiac Ultrasound Education
The CAAHEP website comes with a search engine that allows users to list accredited sonography programs available, specific to the cardiac ultrasound schools that offer them. The 70 schools with cardiac ultrasound programs are spread out all over the country, with the state of Ohio having the most number of schools offering cardiac sonography training – six, to be exact. Texas, New York, and Florida come next, with five schools each offering cardiac sonography training.
Cardiac sonography training can be completed in three different ways based on program length: 1) certificate, 2) associate degree, and 3) bachelor degree. Certificate programs typically take a year, maximum of 18 months to finish. Associate degree and bachelor degree programs take two and four years respectively. Other specialties are also complete the same ways.
If you plan on studying sonography, remember to decide your specialty and program length to make the decision-making process much easier. With numerous programs being made available to students all year round, you can expect the number of cardiac ultrasound schools to increase as well.