Vascular sonography is a growing career specialty within the medical field. The projections for profession opportunities in the field are growing, and it represents a well-paid and rewarding profession which can be attained without attending medical school. In detail, in many instances, it is potential to enter the field with less than a four-year college or university degree.
What Is Vascular Sonography?
1. Vascular sonography, sometimes referred to as vascular ultrasound, makes use of sound waves as a diagnostic tool to produce image of blood flow within blood vessels. Vascular sonography is used as a analysis for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and other vascular disorders. It can also be used to test whether a patient is a good candidate for angioplasty, graft transplantation or bypass surgery, and to determine the rate of blood flow to chronic wounds or tumors.
Training for Vascular Sonography Jobs
2. Many two-year and four-year educational programs are available for training in vascular sonography, although two-year programs are much more common. It is also potential to guide for vascular sonography jobs in the armed services. College students come to the field from various backgrounds. Training usually consists of programs in anatomy, basic physics physiology, patient care, medical ethics and instrumentation.
Workplaces for Vascular Sonography Careers
3. The vast majority of vascular sonography jobs are available in hospitals. Though, as technology allows more medical care to be carried out in clinics and other non-hospital settings, positions for diagnostic medical sonographers are becoming more available in these locations as well. In some situations, diagnostic medical sonographers are employed to work for private physician practices of one or more doctors.
Income for Vascular Sonography Jobs
4. Vascular sonography jobs represent an opportunity for workers with less than four years of college to earn fairly high wages. The median salary for diagnostic medical sonographers in 2010 was $67,160, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Earnings were slightly lower for diagnostic medical sonographers employed in private physician’s offices. The highest salaried diagnostic medical sonographers earned more than $87,000 annually in 2010.
Employment Outlook for Vascular Sonography Careers
5. Based to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment outlook for careers in vascular sonography is favorable, with opportunities expected to expand more rapidly than the national standard. Projections through 2016 call for nearly 9,000 jobs to be further, increasing from 56,000 positions in 2010 to 65,000 in 2016.