Are you fascinated with pursuing a career in the healthcare field, but not quite certain you would able to handle administering shots, drawing blood, and handling the other bodily fluids that are part of the job description and daily routine involved in being a doctor or nurse? Do you love helping other people, but seek to interact with patients in a relaxed, low stress environment? Are you empathetic, caring, and skilled at communicating with others and listening to their questions and concerns? If you answered yes to all of these questions, then an exciting and rewarding career as an ultrasound technician or a sonographer may be in your immediate future. Not sure what that entails? Don’t worry, you’ll find enough information here to get you started.
The most important responsibility of the ultrasound technician is to perform ultrasounds on patients. Ultrasounds, also known as sonographs, are produced by a painless and non-invasive procedure that uses sound wave technology to produce images of various parts of the body. Those images are then used by ultrasound technicians and physicians to aid in diagnosing internal issues, usually without the patient having to experience diagnostic surgery. The ultrasound technician plays a vital role in providing quality healthcare for patients.
Diagnostic medical sonographers, otherwise known as sonographers, or ultrasound technologists, assist in the diagnosis of various medical ailments. Students can train to become sonographers by completing a one-year certificate program, but two-year associate degree programs are more prevalent. If you want to improve your job prospects, seek out schools that prepare you to take the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS) exam. Passing this exam can lead to higher-level jobs and help you stand out from the competition in the job market.
Colorado has several schools offering training programs for radiography students who wish to specialize in ultrasound. Ultrasound technicians and technologists are diagnostic medical sonographers who typically specialize in obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), but, as discussed earlier the field can be broader. Diagnostic medical sonographers use high frequency sounds waves to produce images under the direction of physicians to help detect and diagnose injury or disease. This encompasses much more than obstetrics and gynecology. . Ultrasound technicians assist physicians in many different situations. Some diagnostic medical sonographers specialize in specific areas such as obstetric and gynecologic sonography, which deals with the female reproductive system, or the heart, eyes, pancreas, kidney, spleen, liver, and brain.
Following is a list of some schools in Colorado that offer the training that will launch your sonography career.
 | Red Rocks Community CollegeArvada Campus |
 | Pueblo Community College900 West Orman Ave. |
 | University of Colorado HospitalDepartment of Ultrasound |
 | Everest College—Colorado Springs Campus1815 Jet Wing Drive |
Nationally, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the number of diagnostic sonographers across the nation is expected to increase by 18% from 2008 to 2018. The average annual wage for sonographers in the United States was $64,900 as of May 2010. Now that you know more about sonography and what it takes to begin a career in this field, if you’ re still interested in using ultrasound technology to look at internal parts of the body and work closely with doctors and patients to diagnose medical issues you know exactly how to get started.
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