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Diagnostic Medical Sonographers
Produce ultrasonic recordings of internal organs for use by physicians. Includes vascular technologists.
Also Known As:
Cardiac Sonographer
Diagnostic Medical Sonographer
Medical Sonographer
Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer (RDMS)
Sonographer
Staff Sonographer
Ultrasonographer
Ultrasound Technician (Ultrasound Tech)
Ultrasound Technologist (Ultrasound Tech)
Wages
Annual wages for Diagnostic Medical Sonographers in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
101,700
13% Change From 2024
Explore Diagnostic Medical Sonographers video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Clean, check, and maintain sonographic equipment, submitting maintenance requests or performing minor repairs as necessary.
- Maintain stock and supplies, preparing supplies for special examinations and ordering supplies when necessary.
- Supervise or train students or other medical sonographers.
- Process and code film from procedures and complete appropriate documentation.
- Prepare patient for exam by explaining procedure, transferring patient to ultrasound table, scrubbing skin and applying gel, and positioning patient properly.
- Operate ultrasound equipment to produce and record images of the motion, shape, and composition of blood, organs, tissues, or bodily masses, such as fluid accumulations.
- Perform legal and ethical duties, including preparing safety or accident reports, obtaining written consent from patient to perform invasive procedures, or reporting symptoms of abuse or neglect.
- Maintain stock and supplies, preparing supplies for special examinations and ordering supplies when necessary.
- Clean, check, and maintain sonographic equipment, submitting maintenance requests or performing minor repairs as necessary.
- Supervise or train students or other medical sonographers.
- Coordinate work with physicians or other healthcare team members, including providing assistance during invasive procedures.
- Perform clerical duties, such as scheduling exams or special procedures, keeping records, or archiving computerized images.
- Perform clerical duties, such as scheduling exams or special procedures, keeping records, or archiving computerized images.
- Decide which images to include, looking for differences between healthy and pathological areas.
- Obtain and record accurate patient history, including prior test results or information from physical examinations.
- Prepare patient for exam by explaining procedure, transferring patient to ultrasound table, scrubbing skin and applying gel, and positioning patient properly.
- Coordinate work with physicians or other healthcare team members, including providing assistance during invasive procedures.
- Maintain stock and supplies, preparing supplies for special examinations and ordering supplies when necessary.
- Perform medical procedures, such as administering oxygen, inserting and removing airways, taking vital signs, or giving emergency treatment, such as first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
- Clean, check, and maintain sonographic equipment, submitting maintenance requests or performing minor repairs as necessary.
- Perform medical procedures, such as administering oxygen, inserting and removing airways, taking vital signs, or giving emergency treatment, such as first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
- Load and unload film cassettes used to record images from procedures.
- Select appropriate equipment settings and adjust patient positions to obtain the best sites and angles.
- Prepare patient for exam by explaining procedure, transferring patient to ultrasound table, scrubbing skin and applying gel, and positioning patient properly.
- Record and store suitable images, using camera unit connected to the ultrasound equipment.
- Provide sonogram and oral or written summary of technical findings to physician for use in medical diagnosis.
- Obtain and record accurate patient history, including prior test results or information from physical examinations.
- Observe screen during scan to ensure that image produced is satisfactory for diagnostic purposes, making adjustments to equipment as required.
- Record and store suitable images, using camera unit connected to the ultrasound equipment.
- Perform legal and ethical duties, including preparing safety or accident reports, obtaining written consent from patient to perform invasive procedures, or reporting symptoms of abuse or neglect.
- Process and code film from procedures and complete appropriate documentation.
- Perform clerical duties, such as scheduling exams or special procedures, keeping records, or archiving computerized images.
- Observe and care for patients throughout examinations to ensure their safety and comfort.
- Determine whether scope of exam should be extended, based on findings.
- Observe screen during scan to ensure that image produced is satisfactory for diagnostic purposes, making adjustments to equipment as required.
- Select appropriate equipment settings and adjust patient positions to obtain the best sites and angles.
- Maintain records that include patient information, sonographs and interpretations, files of correspondence, publications and regulations, or quality assurance records, such as pathology, biopsy, or post-operative reports.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")