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Diagnostic Medical Sonographers

Also called: Sonographer, Diagnostic Medical Sonographer, Ultrasonographer, Ultrasound Technologist

What they do:
Produce ultrasonic recordings of internal organs for use by physicians.
On the job, you would:
  • Provide sonogram and oral or written summary of technical findings to physician for use in medical diagnosis.
  • Decide which images to include, looking for differences between healthy and pathological areas.
  • 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.

Knowledge

Business
  • customer service
Health
  • medicine and dentistry
Math and Science
  • physics
  • psychology
Arts and Humanities
  • English language

Skills

Basic Skills
  • talking to others
  • listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
Social
  • understanding people's reactions
  • changing what is done based on other people's actions
Problem Solving
  • noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Abilities

Verbal
  • listen and understand what people say
  • communicate by speaking
Hand and Finger Use
  • keep your arm or hand steady
  • put together small parts with your fingers
Ideas and Logic
  • notice when problems happen
  • make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
Attention
  • pay attention to something without being distracted

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include
ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.
They do well at jobs that need:
  • Attention to Detail
  • Integrity
  • Concern for Others
  • Cooperation
  • Self Control
  • Stress Tolerance

Technology

You might use software like this on the job:

Spreadsheet software
Medical software
  • Patient medical record software
Electronic mail software
  • Email software

Education

Education: (rated 3 of 5)
associate's degree or
bachelor's degree
usually needed

Get started on your career:

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Job Outlook

Bright Outlook
New job opportunities are very likely in the future.
Salary
$65,210
per year, on average
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See more details at O*NET OnLine about diagnostic medical sonographers.