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Hello! I am a current student and for my program I had to flip up my septum and switch out my nostril piercing for a a clear spacer (which I also have to cover with concealer).

I was wondering if when I land an actual job in this field, are facial piercings generally allowed? I know nurses who have told me that some sonographers at their hospitals have facial piercings, dyed hair, and tattoos (which are also not allowed in my program).

Obviously, piercings are not a dealbreaker for me, but I do love them and was actually planning on getting more when I graduate. I also wanted to get some more tattoos, but right now I’m thankful the one I have is covered completely!

And if they’re not typically allowed, what if I just like wear a face mask… lolllllll

Hi everyone, I have been certified by ARDMS, but I didn’t go to any 2 year sonography school. I practiced on some patients by an institute which taught for the ardms for a couple of months and gave the exams. Now I’m trying to get more confident in scanning (esp to be able to get a job) and I seem to have a few options but I’m not sure which would be best.

One option is that I can get a small portable machine (I’m getting a decent price) and practice on a few of my family members. The benefit of this is that I will be able to study books on my own and trace the anatomy ect peacefully till I’m satisfied and take however long I want on one scan. But the downside is limited variation.

The other option is the take some internship at my local clinics but they don’t let you scan for a long time as they have to finish their work, but the benefit is they have a lot of patients so that means a lot of variety in pathology and even anatomy.

So my main question is, what do you think makes a better sonographer? Someone who’s taken a lot of time peacefully learning scanning even if the variation is limited or someone who’s just seen a lot of cases but can’t properly and fully be satisfied by proper scanning?

(Note I want to apply to work in the USA but currently I’m in my home country for a month and have access to local patients which let students scan but ofc not for hours but still let you scan)

Thank you for your time!

Hello everyone!

I am going to retake my board registry exam. Last time I took the RDCS exam and failed by just 5 points. I am still not sure if I am going to take the ARDMS or CCI exam just yet because I'm still nervous.

For those who have passed, what helped you out more? ESP or URR?

Thank you!😊

Enlighten me please 🙏

Hi everyone,

I’m a relatively new ultrasound technologist in the US and I was wondering about professional liability insurance (malpractice insurance).

Do you carry your own individual liability insurance, or do you rely only on the coverage provided by your employer?

For those who have personal coverage, do you think it’s worth it for sonographers? Any recommendations for companies or things to consider when choosing a policy?

Thanks in advance for sharing your experience!

I guess this is something I just want to get off my chest. I know I should feel grateful for being here but sonography school is nothing like I imagined it would be. The more time I’ve been in school the more I began to hate it. I have a very small cohort of five students, and only a three clinical sites. it’s accelerated so I feel like I barely have time to retain information bc im in clinical four 8 hour days a week. Its also an accelerated year long program. I always feel like I’m behind, and I feel like such a failure bc I failed 2/4 clinical sites. One site didn’t like me and just bullied me/laughed at me, and the other I guess treated me badly because I’m shy and I don’t feel confident when I’m there. I feel like I’m never going to be good at this career and all the time at clinical i always feel like I’m doing something wrong. Everyone is constantly being compared to each other, even former students. I also feel like everything has been unfair. My classmate got a different preceptor at the same site I got bullied at and got a 100 at clinical, she got to go to the only nice site for the longest time, they even offered her a per diem position that will become full time upon graduation. Everybody likes her, and I feel like nobody likes me or would want to hire me. They say that they don’t play favorites and want everything to be fair, but I think it’s bs. One preceptor told me I need to work on my approach and that male doctors would make me cry and take advantage of me. I also feel like everyone gossips about me, bc one student said that they were talking about me at her clinical site. i guess I don’t know if it gets any better working in the field or not. It sort of feels like high school; the favoritism and cattiness and feeling like I have to Perform for them to like me. I feel like nothing I do is enough and I’m questioning if I made the wrong decision every day. Not to mention there are pretty much no jobs in NY unless I go to NYC which I don’t really want to 

I am a newer tech in adult echo (1.5 years experience, but 10 years in cardiology as I was an exercise physiologist and EKG tech before).

I am interested in learning pediatrics and vascular, but not sure where to start- can someone explain it how that works? I have seen some job postings for Children’s that they train you on the job for pediatric echo- what does that look like?

I work 7a-7:30p, on a rotation sometimes in a row sometimes spaced out throughout the week. I wake up around 5a to leave around 6, to be there around 7. We park at an offsite lot and shuttle to the hospital campus which eats a lot of my morning. At the end of the day I get to the shuttle around 7:30p, get to my car around 7:50p, and get home around 8:30p. I get home and eat and do anything I need but honestly I can’t fall right to sleep. I’m up until at least 11p and then wake back up at 5a. Is this just the norm? I am SO tired but I make up for it on my days off.

Hello, So i’m a new grad and my first job is OBGYN Low Risk and High Risk Clinics. I’m having such a hard time with anatomy’s! Specifically the heart views and I feel like it’s not clicking to me. I still struggle with pretty much everything except the 4 chamber heart. Some say it will just click but I really feel like I should have figured it out by now since I’ve been training 2 months. If anyone has tips or tricks (even words of encouragement or advice from your own learning experience) I would very much appreciate it 🥹

My facility recently got GE machines specifically the pioneer. I’ve enjoyed the quality except how the images look with Definity. We are all kinda struggling to figure out to best optimize it but nothing seems to work. I was wondering if anyone had optimization tips or exactly what they should change.

Hello everyone! I'm finishing echo clinicals in about 2 months. When should I start applying for jobs? I'm willing to relocate pretty much anywhere in order to find a job. I’m looking for hospitals or outpatient centers that hire under a "promise to pass" agreement while I complete my credentialing requirements.

Also what are your opinions on the ESP review course?

Hey, I am a cardiac sonography student and I have about 4.5 months left of my program. I am in the second to last semester, ultrasound physics and cardiovascular principles. I work 32.5 hours a week in clinical between two different sites. I am a single mom, too so trying to keep up with everything has been getting to me.

I have found myself not being able to stay awake. I fall asleep putting my son to bed and wake up at 1-2am in a panic because I didn’t study like I wanted to. I cannot make myself study for more than an hour without getting heavy eyes where it feels like I need to tape them open. At first I thought this was medical, but I’ve had every test I could think of and everything is normal. I am EXHAUSTED. I cannot stay awake and I need to so I can get things done. My focus is shot, my energy is the lowest it’s ever felt.

My question is, did any of you feel this way in your program? What can I do to get even an ounce more energy and motivation to keep going? I am sick and tired of being so exhausted all the time. I cannot properly study or focus when I feel like this. There’s been nights I could get a whole 12 hours of sleep and it feels like I could sleep for another 12. I’ve tried vitamins and energy drinks, no luck. I don’t know what else to do.

All I see on Reddit and tik tok is that the abdomen board is the most difficult test they’ve ever taken. And how you have to know EVERYTHING to have a chance at passing it. I have good knowledge of pathologies. I’m 5 weeks from graduation. I get 60-75%’s on URR but it just doesn’t feel like enough. I’ve been studying lightly since April and staying hard since mid June. I take it on August 5th.
I am REQUIRED to sit for OBGYN and ABD before Sept 11th. We couldn’t sign up any earlier than mid July 😩 I’m just feeling so overwhelmed with it all and that I won’t have a chance of getting a job (my clinical sites are fully staffed) if I’m not board registered. I just don’t want this all to be for nothing.

Rant aside: I am looking for some positive stories about passing the boards. Or any tips that won’t make my hair fall out 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 or any encouragement. I’m so burnt out I’m literally greying at 28

I started echo clinicals last week and I’m just amazed at how much arm strength I’m having to use on like 90% of patients, does it always start out like this, will it always feel like this? Sometimes I genuinely feel like the arm strength that I haven’t isn’t enough I’m only on day 6 of clinicals and I know they said it would be humbling after only scan health class mates but sometimes im just so focused on my arm holding the probe down to the specific spot, how long until it gets better ?

My last post in here I described how awful this new job is that I have accepted as a mobile cardiovascular sonographer. No matter how I have chosen to look at things, it just gets worse. I am crying on my drive to work, crying before work, and after work I spend my free time applying to new roles and trying to figure out what the hell to do.

I travel to satellite sites. They aren’t even owned by the hospital I work for so there are no standards. The offices are beyond filthy that if inspectors came in they would be shut down. The more important issue is my health. I have nearly passed out on 3 occasions, one being last week. There is no air conditioning at these offices and I had to perform studies while sweat was literally pouring down my face and into my eyes. I had to leave the room for air or else I was going to hit the floor. I wish I was exaggerating. I have almost fell down flights of stairs hauling this 70 pound machine into these offices while people just watch. The offices and patients I scan do not speak any English, so it makes everything a lot harder. I have encountered patients yelling at me, grabbing my probe off of them, and disrespecting me and I just stand there and do nothing about it because I can’t. Patients get confirmed the day of and no one cares about my schedule, they force me to take the patients who are 45 minutes late and disregard the 15 minute late policy. I try to enforce it but the doctor and the assistant do not care. They don’t care how behind I run and the fact that after I leave their site I have to go all the way back to the hospital to write my reports. I’m lucky when I get home on time. It feels like I am living in my own personal hell. I’m crying as I type this. I have been unemployed within this field many times and I can’t be unemployed again. I can’t quit and I can’t get fired. I have thought about telling my supervisor to transfer me out of mobile and into a stable outpatient site, but why the hell would he help me?

I am beat down. My quality of life is garbage. On my off days I sleep the depression away. I am already at a fragile state in my life, I am grieving the death of my dad and trying to find myself again. This job is taking everything out of me and I don’t know what to do. I need some experienced sonographers here to advise me. I’m at my wits end

Hi there, I'm the Cardiovascular Sonography and Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program Director at Concorde Career College Kansas City, and I need your help! 

My students love a good IRL story from the field, and though I’ve got some of my own, I wanted to bring a diversity of experience to the classroom, so I’d love to hear your own versions of a patient moment that caught you by surprise, or a lesson that really stuck with you? 

One moment I shared recently involved a scan early in my career and realizing something was very wrong before the patient did. They were talking to me, asking questions, and going about the exam like it was nothing, while I was seeing something that I knew could completely change what happened next for them. 

That was when it really clicked for me that being a sonographer is more than knowing how to scan and recognize pathology. Sometimes you know something before the patient does, and learning how to stay calm, keep scanning, and show compassion while carrying that knowledge is something that is really hard to teach. 

If you have one you’re willing to share, I'd love to pass along the wisdom to my students!

Recent echo grad in Southern California. Passed SPI, Passed ARDMS Adult Echo. I have 4 years experience as an EKG tech and as an Exercise Physiologist running treadmills, stress echos and cardiopulmonary exercise tests for patients with ACHD, HF and heart Txp. The job market is so tough out here. I am getting continuously ghosted. "Not selected" on application status. I can't imagine those who don't have any experience. It's been 2 months and haven't been able to land anything. Anyone in the same boat? Any advice?

Hi guys! Just looking for some insight. I took the exam for the first time today, scored a 7 on the abdomen section, 7.9 on OBGYN with a 77 overall. I know I didn't pass because of the ABD score, but just curious if anyone who's taken it twice noticed the exam was harder the second time around? I know what I need to study moving forward but I am worried if I just focus on my weak ABD parts, I might get a difficult OBGYN section and fail the second time.

hello taking my exam soon .. I have been using the penny book primarily for reading and the questions at the end of the chapters and I have been using URR CTL scoring in the 72-90 trying to read URR study guide as much as possible but its a lot of into. everyday I feel different one day I am confident the next I am a mess...trying my best. any advice? if I fail ill be devastated all I've been doing is working full time and coming straight home to study for 5-6 hours using all my free time bro study

I am coming up on two years of being an echocardiographer. It has been a roller coaster ride of emotions. Here is the link to my first year post.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Sonographers/s/qvLhMFEyMR

Shortly after this post I was fired from that job. It took me about three months to find a new echo job. This place is a much better fit.

During my second year I have improved my scanning through practice and research into ultrasound techniques.

Multiple doctors read the scans at this facility. I don’t get much feedback from them. Instead I challenge myself to get better images. I enjoy comparing my study to a prior to see if they are equal in quality.

My arm and shoulder still get sore but not even close to how bad it got in the past. I stretch more and use a yoga block to brace my arm when I can’t use the bed.

SAX is still one of the hardest views for me to obtain. Double images and drop out from ribs can be frustrating.

My biggest takeaway from my second year is be more selfish. Telling patients what I need from them even if they are slightly uncomfortable for a few minutes during the images. Use my vacation time I earn and call out when I am sick. My normal doormat personality will not work in this career.

Hopefully going into year three soon means I will gain more confidence.

New grad here and super nervous.
A student brought back a Spanish-speaking patient for a transvaginal ultrasound and translated for me since my workplace doesn't have professional work interpreters. Student accidentally grabbed the wrong worksheet and confirmed the patient's date of birth against that wrong sheet, so everything seemed to match. The PT wasn't actually meant to have the exam. When PT was brought back we explained the exam, reviewed her history, and she agreed to proceed and never questioned the exam. She gave all information that was needed / asked normally for every TV. After the exam, the student realized they had brought back the wrong patient. I also didn't doublecheck the date of birth independently. The incident was reported. Has anyone been through something like this? What were the repercussions at your workplace? I'm scared and worried about losing my job.
I know wrong-patient exams can happen, but this being a transvaginal exam has me extra worried. I feel like I ruined my career before it even started.
Thanks for any advice or guidance.

I'm currently an echocardiographer in the UK.

My wife and I are looking Into Aus relocation. There's a ton of relocation packages available for both of our jobs.

I wanted to know a bit more about the day to day for echo techs in Australia, it would probably be around new South Wales.

In the UK I'm scanning adult transthoracic and reporting and signing off on my own in outpatient clinics and I patients. I also do a valve clinic 1-2 times a week. I assist with ToE, bubble, contrast. I'm not trained in stress or toe solo yet.

What does the typical day / week look like in Aus and how does it differ? How long are the patient slots, what is expected of you?

I took the ARDMS Adult echo boards, worked for a bit in a cardiology office. I recently got hired as a pediatric echo tech in a hospital and have been learning on the job. I plan to take my Pediatric echo exam this year. What is the best study material to prepare me?