Sonography

​​Technical Standards

The following criteria define the technical standards applicants are generally expected to meet in order to participate and function in the laboratory, classroom and clinical setting. These technical standards are necessary and essential to provide for the health and safety of students and of the patients receiving care.

 

All students in the Diagnostic Medical Sonography Programs must possess the intellectual ability to learn, integrate, analyze, and synthesize data.  Students must have functional use of the senses of vision and hearing and motor function capabilities to meet the demands of the profession.

 

Students must: 

  1. Observe patients, manipulate equipment, and evaluate image quality.
    1. ​Observe changes in patient condition
    2. Utilizing equipment for maximum diagnostic results to include computers
    3. Differentiate primary colors, shades of gray, and real-time images, as well as, delineate spatial relationships, borders, visual comparisons and pathological entities in two and three-dimensional planes
  1. Demonstrate sufficient hearing to access patient needs and communicate verbally with other health care providers.
    1. Acquire information
    2. Perceive nonverbal communication
    3. Differentiate Doppler signals
    4. Hear audible alarms
  1. Demonstrate sufficient verbal and written skills to communicate needs promptly and efficiently in English.
    1. ​Must verbally instruct patients
    2. Speak in a way that is clearly understood by the average person at close range
    3. Foster mature, sensitive, and effective relationships with patients, colleagues and other health care professionals
    4. Demonstrate patient confidentiality and medical ethics
  1. Demonstrate sufficient gross and fine motor coordination to respond promptly and ensure patient safety.
    1. ​Safely perform imaging procedures
    2. Assess and comprehend the condition of the patient
    3. Ability to lift 50 pounds
    4. Ability to stand and walk up to 8 hours a day
    5. Ability to exercise a full range of body motions with intermittent lifting, bending, squatting, kneeling and twisting
  1. Demonstrate satisfactory intellectual and emotional functions to exercise independent judgment and discretion in the safe technical performance of sonographic imaging procedures. 
    1. ​Function effectively under stress
    2. Adapt to changing environments and exhibit independent judgment and critical thinking
    3. Demonstrate professionalism, compassion, altruism, empathy, integrity, concern for others, interest, and motivation
  1. Intellectual and Communication Skills
    1. ​Ability to work in a noisy environment with many interruptions
    2. Ability to explain procedures and patient preparations clearly, verbally or written
    3. Ability to apply critical thinking skills when obtaining a clinical history from the patient and correlating that information with exam findings accurately
    4. ​Demonstrate respect for a diverse patient population
  1. Maintain CPR certification