Could someone give me a summary of what you have to do on your job as an Obstetric Ultrasound Technician?
Please give me a good answer! I’m trying to decide on whether I should study to be an Ultrasound Technician in college. Oh and also.. if I do decide to study Ultrasonography in college, can I just tell them that I only want to study Sonography in the pregnancy area instead of every department that Sonography offers?
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 4:48 pm by radiology · Permalink
In: Ultrasound Technician Jobs · Tagged with: Could, Give, Obstetric, Someone, summary, Technician, Ultrasound
In: Ultrasound Technician Jobs · Tagged with: Could, Give, Obstetric, Someone, summary, Technician, Ultrasound
on April 28, 2012 at 4:57 pm
Permalink
This is from the Bureau of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook:
“Diagnostic imaging embraces several procedures that aid in diagnosing ailments. The most familiar procedures are the x ray and magnetic resonance imaging; however, not all imaging technologies use ionizing, radiation, or radio waves. Sonography, or ultrasonography, is the use of sound waves to generate an image for the assessment and diagnosis of various medical conditions. Sonography is commonly 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 throughout the body.
Diagnostic medical sonographers use special equipment to direct 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.
Sonographers begin by explaining the procedure to the patient and recording any medical history that may be relevant to the condition being viewed. They then select appropriate equipment settings and direct the patient to move into positions that will provide the best view. To perform the exam, sonographers use a transducer, which transmits sound waves in a cone-shaped or rectangle-shaped beam. Although techniques vary by 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 store and show to the physician. Sonographers take measurements, calculate values, and analyze the results in preliminary findings for the physicians.
In addition to working directly with patients, diagnostic medical sonographers keep patient records and adjust and maintain equipment. They also may prepare work schedules, evaluate equipment purchases, or manage a sonography or diagnostic imaging department.
Diagnostic medical sonographers may specialize in obstetric and gynecologic sonography (images of the female reproductive system), abdominal sonography (images of the liver, kidneys, gallbladder, spleen, and pancreas), neurosonography (images of the brain and other parts of the nervous system), or breast sonography. In addition, sonographers may specialize in vascular sonography or cardiac sonography. (Vascular sonographers and cardiac sonographers are covered in the Handbook statement on cardiovascular technologists and technicians.)
Obstetric and gynecologic sonographers specialize in the imaging of the female reproductive system. Included in the discipline is one of the more well-known uses of sonography: examining the fetus of a pregnant woman to track the baby’s growth and health.”
There’s more, but I didn’t want to give you a three-page answer! Use the link below to get lots more details from the Handbook.
I think the answer to your second question – about concentrating on obstetrical sonography – could only be reliably answered by the colleges you’re looking into.