Sonography Technician Certificate

With a sonography technician certificate, sonographers can prove they are registered and that they have undergone a formalized process to complete their preparation for this important profession. Many schools offer courses that will end in the granting of an sonography technician certificate. These course programs include both academic and clinical training that gets students on the way to their new career path as quickly, effectively and successfully as possible.
You may choose to complete a sonography technician certificate program, or complete an associate’s degree or bachelor’s degree with a focus on ultrasound and sonography, depending on where you want to work and what you specifically want to do. The certificate is the fastest type of program, which can often be completed in as little as one year with a full time course of study. The associate’s degree may be completed in two years, and the bachelor’s degree may be completed in four years, all assuming the student takes a full load of classes and passes them all every semester.
After completing the sonography technician certificate, associate’s degree or bachelor’s degree, graduates can then register with the American Registry of Diagnostic Sonographers to give themselves additional professional standing. The registration is not required, but it can increase your employment opportunities and wages. In order to register with the ARDS, you must have attended a program that is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs or the Canadian Medical Association, or attended an unaccredited program and completed one year of work study in a clinical setting. In the latter scenario, the clinical setting must be supported by the Society for Diagnostic Medical Sonography.
While you complete your sonography technician certificate or degree program, you will be trained in anatomy, medical ethics, patient care, physics, physiology, terminology, and ultrasound instrumentation. You may also undergo training in a specialized area such as abdominal sonography, obstetric gynecologic sonography or neuro-sonography. And even after you are working in the field, you will probably have to continue your education in order to stay on top of changing technology and to stay certified.