The medical field can be an interesting, rewarding, and absolutely incredible one to work in. You’ll get to help people heal, see the miracles of modern medicine, and earn great pay while you do it. Diagnostic medical sonography, also referred to as sonography or ultrasounds, is one of the many different fields that you can enter. It’s used almost hourly in most hospitals and medical centers. Whether you’re thinking of becoming an ultrasound technician or have an appointment for one on the horizon, you may have numerous questions about ultrasounds. Here are some answers to the most commonly asked questions about ultrasounds.
- What is an Ultrasound? – Simply put, an ultrasound is a diagnostic procedure that uses a device known as a transducer to send sound waves through the body. It then collects the echoes as the sound bounces off your organs, muscles, and tissues and creates images. Those images are then reviewed by a physician to ensure that no problems exist. It is an invaluable tool for physicians, surgeons, and other medical professionals.
- Is it Painful? – An ultrasound is neither painful nor invasive. In rare cases a probe may need to be inserted into a bodily cavity, but in nearly all ultrasounds the process involves nothing more than moving a small device over the skin.
- Why is it Used? – Doctors from nearly all fields of medicine use an ultrasound for various reasons. In some cases it will be used to track the progress of a pregnancy, in some it will detect abnormalities or problems with the heart, in others it will locate the presence of kidney stones. There are simply too many uses for ultrasounds to list here.
- What Qualifications are Required to Perform One? – An ultrasound technician has to go through a two year Associate’s Degree program from a reputable sonography school in order to enter the field. Certification is usually obtained through an exam, and in many cases additional schooling is used to specialize in a certain branch of sonography.
- Will The Technician Diagnose Me? – No. An ultrasound technician is only qualified to perform the scan and capture the images. There’s a good chance that he or she will be able to show you the sex of your baby, explain the images you’re seeing on the ultrasound monitor, and answer any questions you may have about the procedure. But the images captured will be given to your physician so that you can be diagnosed by them.
