Ultrasound technicians are crucial healthcare professionals who utilize both hard and soft skills during their job duties. At National Polytechnic College (NPCollege), we offer a comprehensive Diagnostic Medical Sonography Technician program, which helps you learn the skills needed to be an ultrasound technician. Here, we explore the skills you’ll need to learn to thrive in this profession.
What Is an Ultrasound Technician?
Ultrasound technicians, also known as diagnostic medical sonographers, are healthcare workers who perform medical imaging procedures. These procedures, known as ultrasounds or sonograms, involve sending high-frequency sound waves through the body to help create images of the body’s organs and tissues. This process helps doctors make diagnoses and formulate treatment plans.
Ultrasounds are particularly useful because they allow doctors to look inside the body without performing any surgical procedures. Ultrasound technicians use a specialized instrument called a transducer that emits pulses of sound into the body. When these pulses hit internal organs, tissues, and other materials, they bounce back, providing a detailed internal view that is displayed on a nearby computer.
Some other responsibilities you’ll undertake in this position include:
- Maintaining equipment
- Preparing patients for the procedure
- Ensuring proper positioning of patients and equipment
- Producing high-quality images of the target areas
- Evaluating the imaging results to make sure they’re appropriate
- Communicating your findings with a radiologist
- Keeping medical records
What Are the Skills Needed to Be an Ultrasound Technician?
Like other medical positions, those looking to become ultrasound technicians will need to have a strong familiarity with human anatomy. However, you’ll need more than textbook knowledge to excel in this position. As an ultrasound tech, you’ll need to showcase both hard and soft skills.
Hard Skills
Hard skills refer to the abilities you’ll learn through hands-on experience and training. These technical skills can involve:
- Using tools and instruments properly
- Working with equipment that the job requires
- Knowing how to properly record and update medical records
- Analyzing imaging results and making sure they’re high-quality
- Preparing exam rooms
Soft Skills
Alternatively, soft skills deal more with your interpersonal traits and are sometimes viewed as “people skills.” Soft skills often aren’t something you can take a course to learn but have most likely developed throughout your life. These skills include things like:
- Time management
- Leadership
- Communication
- Organization
- Problem-solving
- Attention to detail
Soft skills are particularly important in a medical environment because you’ll want to help ensure your patients feel comfortable during procedures. Being able to help them relax not only makes the process go smoothly but also helps your patients feel at ease.
Why Choose a Career in Sonography?
Ultrasound techs have a unique job that combines an interest in the latest technologies with a passion for providing quality patient care. But there’s even more to be excited about when it comes to this career path.
According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, diagnostic medical sonographers and cardiovascular technologists and technicians are expected to have plenty of job openings in the coming years. Projected job openings are projected to reach new 10,000 each year from 2023 to 2033. The job outlook is also projected to grow 11% over the next decade. A strong job outlook and many job openings mean that you’ll have an easier time finding and keeping a job. Since medical professionals are needed in nearly every city and state, you can choose where you’d like to work.
It’s also important to consider that these positions pay well. The median annual wage for diagnostic medical sonographers as of May 2023 was over $84,000, with those in California averaging around $83,200 a year.
Our Programs
At National Polytechnic College, we offer students the chance to get a high-quality education, leaving them feeling confident when entering the workforce. Our diagnostic medical sonography technician and cardiovascular sonography (echocardiography) technician programs boast outstanding instructors who are committed to helping their students succeed. Each of these programs provides the opportunity to enjoy both in-class instruction as well as live-streamed, remote lectures, helping those with busy schedules find the time to learn.
Take the First Step Toward Your Future
National Polytechnic College in Lakewood, CA, is proud to offer different programs to help medically inclined students get a quality education. For those looking to take on these rewarding roles, our instructors help you hone the skills needed to be an ultrasound technician.
We offer a career services department, which specializes in helping students prepare for life after graduation through practice interviews, resume-building assistance, and more. We also provide financial aid for qualified individuals. If you’re interested in learning more about any of our programs or are ready to enroll, contact us today.