Diagnostic Medical Sonography

Diagnostic medical sonographers may specialize in obstetric and gynecological sonography, abdominal sonography, neurosonography, or breast sonography. In addition, sonographers may specialize in vascular technology or echocardiography.

Admission Requirements and Curriculum

 

Diagnostic Medical Sonography

Diagnostic Imaging

 

 

Wallace State’s programs boast a top-notch reputation with outstanding licensure and job placement rates, small class sizes and an award-winning faculty.  Choose Wallace State’s Diagnostic Medical Sonography degree for a career in a highly-rewarding, high-demand field at a fraction of the cost of attending a university.  And if you do choose to continue your education, you’ll be two years ahead on an advanced degree, with employment potential and cost savings to boot.  

Discover your story in Diagnostic Medical Sonography at Wallace State!       

Sonography, or ultrasonography, is the use of sound waves to generate an image for the assessment and diagnosis of various medical conditions. Sonography is usually associated with obstetrics and the use of ultrasound imaging during pregnancy, but this technology has many other applications in the diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions.

Diagnostic medical sonographers use special equipment to direct non-ionizing, high frequency sound waves into areas of the patient’s body. Sonographers operate the equipment, which collects reflected echoes and forms an image that may be videotaped, transmitted, or photographed for interpretation and diagnosis by a physician.

To perform the exam, sonographers use a transducer, which transmits sound waves in a cone- or rectangle-shaped beam. Although techniques vary with the area being examined, sonographers usually spread a special gel on the skin to aid the transmission of sound waves.

Viewing the screen during the scan, sonographers look for subtle visual cues that contrast healthy areas with unhealthy ones. They decide whether the images are satisfactory for diagnostic purposes and select which ones to show to the physician. Sonographers take measurements, calculate values, and analyze the results in preliminary reports for the physicians.

Diagnostic medical sonographers may specialize in obstetric and gynecologic sonography (the female reproductive system), abdominal sonography (the liver, kidneys, gallbladder, spleen, and pancreas), neurosonography (the brain), or breast sonography. In addition, sonographers may specialize in vascular technology or echocardiography.

Accreditation

The DMS Program (Adult-Ext., OB/GYN, Vascular, Cardiac) at Wallace State Community College is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (www.caahep.org) upon the recommendation of the Joint Review on Education in Diagnostic Medical Sonography (JRC-DMS).

Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP)
9355 - 113th St. N, #7709
Seminole, FL 33775
(727) 210-2350
www.caahep.org

Joint Review Committee on Education in Diagnostic Medical Sonography
6021 University Boulevard, Suite 500
Ellicott City, MD 21043
www.jrcdms.org

Program Overview

Diagnostic Medical Sonography


Degrees/Awards Offered

AAS


Availability

  • Day

Diagnostic Medical Sonography


Curriculum: Program of Study

Pathway Maps: Sonography & Cardiovascular, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Abdominal/Vascular

 

Career Outlook

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