Ultrasound Technology: What Can I Specialize in?

As an up-and-coming medical career path, Ultrasound Technology is a great program to study. Ultrasound Technicians image organs and structures within the patient’s body using sound wave technology.

For many reasons, having a career in sonography is extremely rewarding and has continued to grow over the years. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects increasing growth in this field as sonography becomes an increasingly attractive alternative to radiological procedures. Faster than average job growth is expected with a projected increase of 46% annually until 2022. As of 2012, Sonographers held about 110,400 jobs with about 59% positions in public and private hospitals. Remaining jobs are in physician offices, medical and diagnostic laboratories and outpatient care centers.

With the Ultrasound Technician program at High Desert Medical College, you can complete your certification in about 2 years. The HDMC Ultrasound Technician program length is 2 years for our day program and 28 months for our evening program. Our students take courses in:

• Medical terminology
• Anatomy, physiology, and physics
• Ultrasound laboratory
• Abdomen, OBGYN, and Vascular
• Externship

So, you’ve decided to begin a career in sonography. Congratulations! Did you know that there are several areas to specialize in? At HDMC, we offer training in:

• Obstetric and Gynecologic
• Abdominal
• Breast sonography
• Vascular technology

High Desert Medical College provides the best, state-of-the-art programs for its students so that they can be prepared to start in their specialty upon graduation. Each specialty is different in its own way and has specific pros and cons. Here is some information to help you along the way.

 

OB/GYN Ultrasound Technology

This specialty focuses on ultrasounds performed on the pelvic region of female patients and fetuses. Obstetric sonography is specifically focused on using an abdominal ultrasound to determine the condition of a fetus. Information that is retrieved by the obstetric ultrasound technician include:

• Expected date of delivery
• Gestational development
• Gestational size and weight

Gynecological specialties focus on transvaginal and transabdominal ultrasounds to examine the female reproductive system. This includes the fallopian tubes, ovaries, vagina, and uterus. Gynecological ultrasound technicians have the very important job of ensuring there are no abnormalities within the patient’s reproductive system.

Abdominal Ultrasound Technology

This specialty focuses on abdominal ultrasounds. The abdominal ultrasound examines the kidneys, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen and abdominal aorta. This may also be referred to as “general sonography” because this is the most common type of sonography. An abdominal ultrasound technician handles the execution of an accurate abdominal image.

 

Breast Ultrasound Technology

Another very important specialty in sonography, breast ultrasounds are done to examine abnormalities in female patients. While this is a pretty standard task for some patients, this assessment is how patients discover early detection of breast cancer. Breast ultrasounds can even determine the nature of a breast abnormality to be analyzed by a license physician.

Vascular Technology Ultrasound Technology

Ultrasound technicians with a focus in vascular technology monitor the vascular system for signs of diseases or obstruction. To assess the healthy function of blood flow for a patient, technician takes images that examine:

• Monitoring blood flow
• Identifying blockages
• Finding blood clots, tumors, aneurysms and other blood vessel abnormalities
• Determining if angioplasty is a viable treatment option
• Assessing outcome of a bypass or graft of blood vessels

Whichever program you choose, HDMC has a specialty program for you. To learn more about the Ultrasound Technician program at High Desert Medical College, click here. We offer day and evening classes to best fit your busy life and schedule. We are enrolling our next class now.