clinical application: where real sonography education starts
There are many arguments for getting tertiary education and many arguments against it. In the technological age of our society, the availability of information has been steadily increasing – sometimes even negating the necessity for standard education. More parents are choosing to home school their children and teenagers and young adults are choosing to learn their trade while practicing it. When it comes to medical careers, education from a standardized system is important – but not without clinical application.
Learning Sonography
Sonography programs are offered all over the United States by colleges and universities. There are on-campus courses and online courses you can enroll into in order to receive ultrasound technician degrees. The top educational institutions that offer sonography training are all certified by the CAAHEP (Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs), meaning their curricula have passed the rigorous examination by the organization. Associates degree in sonography accredited by CAAHEP can be found in almost all of these schools.
In studying sonography, you have a choice of enrolling in certificate, associate degree, or bachelor degree programs. Associate and bachelor degree programs are offered to high school graduates, or transfers from other courses. Certificate programs, because they are shorter, can only be taken by students who have previously graduated from an allied health program and/or are currently working.
The Application
Once you complete the course you can earn accredited ultrasound technician certificates now. But how do you finish training? Like other allied health programs, there are two parts of the program – classroom/laboratory lessons and clinical training. The first part is usually completed in the first half of the sonography program, with ultrasound students taking in concepts and skills through lessons and practice on training mannequins.
After all the lessons and laboratory exercises have been finished, students are required to complete clinical training. Clinical training involves performing the tasks of a sonographer in an actual clinical environment with actual patients. Arguably, this is the most important part of the sonography education process. A student may ace all the exams and demonstrations, but be unable to meet the demands of a typical workday in a clinical set up.
Clinical application of sonography skills on actual patients requires determination to become a sonographer, because the job is very taxing physically and emotionally. Students are expected to go on duty like certified sonographers, when the workday can go beyond the usual eight hours. Overtime is not uncommon if you work in health care – especially in diagnostic laboratories and hospitals with a high influx of patients.
Lessons Learned
In the end, the most important thing sonographers develop in clinical training is compassion. It is one of the most important characteristics of an allied health worker, beyond quality skills and stock knowledge. The connection formed with patients, even in the few minutes spent in the diagnostic room, is one of the most important lessons ultrasound tech students learn during their clinical rotations. If you plan on becoming a sonographer or studying it right now, never take your clinical training for granted and make the most out of it.
Learning Sonography
Sonography programs are offered all over the United States by colleges and universities. There are on-campus courses and online courses you can enroll into in order to receive ultrasound technician degrees. The top educational institutions that offer sonography training are all certified by the CAAHEP (Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs), meaning their curricula have passed the rigorous examination by the organization. Associates degree in sonography accredited by CAAHEP can be found in almost all of these schools.
In studying sonography, you have a choice of enrolling in certificate, associate degree, or bachelor degree programs. Associate and bachelor degree programs are offered to high school graduates, or transfers from other courses. Certificate programs, because they are shorter, can only be taken by students who have previously graduated from an allied health program and/or are currently working.
- Certificate courses – 12 months to complete
- Associate degree courses – 2 years to complete
- Bachelor degree courses – 4 years to complete
The Application
Once you complete the course you can earn accredited ultrasound technician certificates now. But how do you finish training? Like other allied health programs, there are two parts of the program – classroom/laboratory lessons and clinical training. The first part is usually completed in the first half of the sonography program, with ultrasound students taking in concepts and skills through lessons and practice on training mannequins.
After all the lessons and laboratory exercises have been finished, students are required to complete clinical training. Clinical training involves performing the tasks of a sonographer in an actual clinical environment with actual patients. Arguably, this is the most important part of the sonography education process. A student may ace all the exams and demonstrations, but be unable to meet the demands of a typical workday in a clinical set up.
Clinical application of sonography skills on actual patients requires determination to become a sonographer, because the job is very taxing physically and emotionally. Students are expected to go on duty like certified sonographers, when the workday can go beyond the usual eight hours. Overtime is not uncommon if you work in health care – especially in diagnostic laboratories and hospitals with a high influx of patients.
Lessons Learned
In the end, the most important thing sonographers develop in clinical training is compassion. It is one of the most important characteristics of an allied health worker, beyond quality skills and stock knowledge. The connection formed with patients, even in the few minutes spent in the diagnostic room, is one of the most important lessons ultrasound tech students learn during their clinical rotations. If you plan on becoming a sonographer or studying it right now, never take your clinical training for granted and make the most out of it.