Healthcare industry bestows massive number of job opportunities in various streams. Right from nurses, physicians and other technicians, a lot of career opportunities have been provided by this specific industry for the professionals. Ultrasound tech is one of those streams giving a great scope for the professionals to find a place in the health care industry. In order to become an ultrasound technician, right educational qualifications and certifications are mandatory. The demand for ultrasound technicians is steeply increasing as an immense number of hospitals and medical centres are using this technology.
There are different educational options available for anyone who prefers pursuing a career in the field of ultra-sonography. The educational options range from less detailed and shorter programs to extensive degree courses. Moreover, there are various areas of specialization and concentration in ultrasound. Basically there are three different degree options available for those individuals who want to become an ultra sound technician. They include
- Certification programs
- Associate’s degree program
- Bachelor’s degree program
Certification Programs: This is considered to be the shortest term ultra sound training program. This short term training program goes over the basics of sonography and the aspirants participating in this program will be acquiring a certificate at the end of the course. This training program is usually offered by vocational and career schools. These programs may last for around one year. The employers will be hiring the people with certificates but not probably for better paying and higher level positions. Hence, it is always better to get further training to begin working and gaining real experience and handsome salary.
Associate’s Degree Program: Typically, an ultrasound associate’s degree program takes two years to complete. However, the pre-requisites vary from one school to another. Some schools insist the completion of college-level biology together with medical terminology courses. Some other schools require an allied-health degree in specific areas such as physical therapy, nursing, radiologic technology or bachelor degree in any major. The Associate’s degree is a combination of hands on clinical rotations with coursework. Most of the degree programs offer opportunity to get specialized in specific area of the ultrasound profession
Bachelor’s Degree: A bachelor’s degree in ultrasonography is considered to be a four year program which includes pre professional as well as professional courses. The pre-professional courses consists of classes required for all sorts of Bachelor of Science in the areas of Math, Computer science, Biology, Physics and Chemistry. On the other hand, the professional courses are delved into several areas of sonography and they include obstetrics, gynecology, vascular, cardiac and abdominal. It also includes highly specialized physics and biology courses such as genetics, pathology, anatomy and Doppler sonography. In most of the cases, you can get specialized in certain areas of sonography is the final one or two years of the course.
Online Degree Options: If you have completed a certification program or associate’s degree, have any work experience in this field and are looking to advance your career, then you can make use of online degree options. This enables you to further specialize in the specific area of sonography without distraction your personal and professional schedule. Whenever you choose an ultrasound educational program, make sure that the school offers accredited degree programs.