Ultrasound technician student begin with prerequisites: The Ultrasound tech Diagnostic Medical Sonography programs begin with prerequisites which vary depending on which path you’ve chosen as a Ultrasound technician student. If you are getting an AS or BS degree in DMS at a university or community college that offers Ultrasound tech programs, then you will complete full courses of Physics, Microbiology, and Human Anatomy before you are even eligible to apply for the DMS program. Keep in mind that these prerequisites have prerequisites of their own (usually Chemistry and General Biology).
Classes needed for ultrasound technicians:
If you are getting a DMS certificate from a reputable private program 19 months in length, generally the program will require you take their condensed prerequisites geared specifically to Ultrasound. These usually include an introduction to Ultrasound Physics and Instrumentation, basic Human Anatomy, Cross-Sectional Human Anatomy and Medical Terminology.
After the prerequisites are done, you will continue to just follow the 19 month private program structure. Can you earn a Ultrasound degree in 2 years? Read more info on the Classes and prerequisites needed for ultrasound technicians here. The program’s core instruction consists of essentially 4 modules and then an internship (960 hours of clinical experience). The modules include; Ultrasound Physics, Abdominal and Small Parts, Gynecology and Obstetrical, and Basic Vascular.
Most likely the program will begin by teaching you Ultrasound Physics because you need a good knowledge of how the sound waves work on the human body. The rest of the Classes cover the other areas in no particular order. In each module the anatomy, physiology, pathology is detailed and what the body parts look like on ultrasound.
There are several labs each week where you practice these lessons on ultrasound machines using other students as your “patient”. Once most of the modules are completed, you will be placed in an actual imaging center or hospital for your internship. A reputable DMS Ultrasound techn program will already have a relationship with the center, so it is easy to place you in an internship.
Once you have completed your modules and internship, you will graduate and if you have just finished a good DMS program, then you will be ready to take your ARDMS registry exams!