Introduction to the Sonographer Work Environment
A sonographer is a vital member of the health care team, responsible for aiding physicians in making patients’ diagnoses. However, unlike physicians and nurses, sonographers work in a completely different area of the hospital, often only seeing the inside of patient’s rooms when emergency cases need stat sonograms (stat is medical lingo for an emergency procedure). This was then. With technological developments made to the sonogram machines in 2014, the procedure has become more portable and easy to use. 2015 sees even more improvement made to the diagnostic medical procedure.
The examination room
To search for an ultrasound technician, you would have to look in the diagnostics department of a hospital or a diagnostic clinic. Before sonograms were advanced technologically, they were big, lumbering machines that could not be moved from one place to another with encountering significant difficulty. This meant a sonographer spent most of his or her time in an examination room alone (usually with one other technician or a nurse), waiting for patients lined up outside for a sonogram exam. Today, sonograms are much smaller, more portable, but sonographers will usually spend a portion of their time in an examination room waiting for patients who need the procedure. Examination rooms are basically complete in terms of supplies and machines. There is usually an emergency cart in the room, along with the usual apparatuses that come with a sonogram machine – an examination table, a stool for the sonographer, a printer, and a cart filled with medical supplies like ultrasound gel, gauze, and other similar objects. |
If you are tasked to perform the sonogram in a patient’s room, you should be prepared with all the needed supplies for the procedure – though the nurses on duty will usually prepare everything for you. Typically, the nurse assigned to the patient will also assist you in performing the procedure, unlike performing the procedure alone in an examination room.
Hospitals vs. diagnostic clinics
The greatest distinction in medical environments is between hospitals and diagnostic clinics. Hospitals are round-the-clock facilities, meaning sonographers are always on-call at all-hours of the day. There are typically three shifts in a hospital – morning, afternoon, and night (the last of three more commonly known as the “graveyard shift”). There is also a constant influx of patients, especially because ERs are open 24/7.
Hospitals vs. diagnostic clinics
The greatest distinction in medical environments is between hospitals and diagnostic clinics. Hospitals are round-the-clock facilities, meaning sonographers are always on-call at all-hours of the day. There are typically three shifts in a hospital – morning, afternoon, and night (the last of three more commonly known as the “graveyard shift”). There is also a constant influx of patients, especially because ERs are open 24/7.
Diagnostic clinics typically open from 8 to 5, and focus mainly on the procedures, with very little patient care provided. Typically, diagnostic clinics are also outpatient clinics, so sonographers deal with patients who are up for their initial diagnoses or simply need a follow-up. More information can be found here and through the links listed previously.
Career requirements for sonography are pretty simple. There are more than 200 schools in the United States that offer sonography education in various forms – certificate, associate degrees, and bachelor degrees. The first step to any career is good education – so choose the school that offers you what you want as well as what you need. |
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