Looking into an Ultrasound Technician’s Work Shift
Allied health occupations typically hold eight to ten hour work shifts in a day. Sonographers are no different, being one of the most popular and fastest-growing medical careers today. Working in health care means that a person should prepare for long work-hours but you can receive so much more in return. But what does it take to become an ultrasound technician? And what should you prepare for?
Sonography education
When you study in an accredited diagnostic medical sonography program, you will learn all the needed sonography skills and techniques through clinical and didactic training. California is the popular place to get sonography training, because it is the state where sonographers earn high salary. Job outlook in California beats out all other 49 states in the US. Currently, there are 10 CAAHEP-accredited ultrasound technician schools in CA.
Sonography skills and techniques
In order to prepare for a long work day as a sonographer, you should have developed the following skills and techniques in your undergraduate sonography program – or at least started learning them.
You can learn more about sonographers through this link.
The work day
Shifts in the hospital are usually divided into AM, PM, and night shifts. AM shifts last from 6 AM to 2 PM, PM shifts from 2 PM to 10 PM, and night shifts from 10 PM to 6 AM. These can vary among different health facilities, but the hours are roughly the same. Throughout the work day, a sonographer is expected to:
· Acquire pertinent medical histories from patients
· Prepare patients for the procedure through health teaching
· Maintaining the sonogram machine and being able to trouble shoot it
· Analyzing the results of the procedure
· Reporting results to the rest of the health care team
· Keeping and maintaining patient records
While this may seem daunting, one of the best returns on working as a sonographer is interaction with patients. Some patients may be difficult but some may teach you life lessons you would’ve otherwise never learned. People learn a lot about themselves when interacting with others, especially those who are sick. If you’ve got the technical skill with machines, as well as the heart for healing people, then sonography might just be the career for you.
Sonography education
When you study in an accredited diagnostic medical sonography program, you will learn all the needed sonography skills and techniques through clinical and didactic training. California is the popular place to get sonography training, because it is the state where sonographers earn high salary. Job outlook in California beats out all other 49 states in the US. Currently, there are 10 CAAHEP-accredited ultrasound technician schools in CA.
Sonography skills and techniques
In order to prepare for a long work day as a sonographer, you should have developed the following skills and techniques in your undergraduate sonography program – or at least started learning them.
- Hand-eye coordination – Sonography is done by manipulating a transducer, placing it on the body part that needs to be scanned, and allowing the sound waves to pass through and return to the sonogram machine. Good hand-eye coordination is needed to properly position the transducer while looking at the sonogram screen to check the images produced.
- Orientation to detail – It is part of a sonographer’s job to analyze the images produced by a sonogram, therefore orientation to detail is an important skill. The images are often unclear so sonographers have to have a good eye for detail to make out the organs and other structures in the body.
- Stamina – Due to the long work hours, sonographers need to have stamina. Much of the work day is spent standing up and stooping, especially when moving the transducer around to get better images or if the patient is hard to position adequately.
You can learn more about sonographers through this link.
The work day
Shifts in the hospital are usually divided into AM, PM, and night shifts. AM shifts last from 6 AM to 2 PM, PM shifts from 2 PM to 10 PM, and night shifts from 10 PM to 6 AM. These can vary among different health facilities, but the hours are roughly the same. Throughout the work day, a sonographer is expected to:
· Acquire pertinent medical histories from patients
· Prepare patients for the procedure through health teaching
· Maintaining the sonogram machine and being able to trouble shoot it
· Analyzing the results of the procedure
· Reporting results to the rest of the health care team
· Keeping and maintaining patient records
While this may seem daunting, one of the best returns on working as a sonographer is interaction with patients. Some patients may be difficult but some may teach you life lessons you would’ve otherwise never learned. People learn a lot about themselves when interacting with others, especially those who are sick. If you’ve got the technical skill with machines, as well as the heart for healing people, then sonography might just be the career for you.