ARDMS Ultrasound Certification vs. Accredited Sonography Program

Why does it say I'm from Manchaster Connecticut? Lol this thing us weird

Nadia in Rochester, New York said: Could you tell me a little more about it since you're in the program and already passed some exams? The thing is that this semester it is my first Physics course EVER. And it is confusing and stressful, so I'm thinkin if I take only one class and then need to take physics exam, how am I going to know it all. I can't learn that much in 4 months. How many physics courses did you take? And when do you take it?
Thank you for everyone's responses, I truly appreciate them!

I don't know why kind of Physics course/review you are referring to, but I had two semesters/one year of ultrasound physics. Prior to applying to the program, a semester of introductory physics is required as well. If I were you, I wouldn't worry about it all making sense until your instructor has taught at least the concepts and relationships. I too was confused in the beginning, but now that I have completed the physics course and I am doing rotations in hospitals with real patients, I see how extremely important the physics course is. It isn't just some ridiculous course the school makes you take so you can pass the SPI. It is 100% necessary to be a good tech, one who knows how to obtain optimal images and that comes along with know how to use the machines. (Of course you do need to know how to scan as well.)This knowledge will come from the physics course. Any other questions, you can email me directly at qtpyinnj@aol.com. I do not regularly check this forum and that is the best way to get in contact with me.

Nadia in Rochester, New York said: I'm sorry, this was for ThatsMintttt.

Hey Nadia...Hope all is well and you've gotten the answers and info you feel you needed...I am a polysomnographic technician now..Was in school for Ultrasound, got screwed over by my school, then upon doing even more research, I just decided to switch medical career paths all together..But that's just me! Please understand that when I was writing to you, I wasn't writing to try to be the "bubble burster" or to try to discourage..Just making sure everyone who goes for ultrasound now-a-days understands about CAAHEP schools, and understands that u/s sound jobs aren't as lucrative as they were 5-10 years ago. But I'm sure with hard work and pushing and being persistant, you'll be just fine.

Thanks to all of you!! It did give me a better overall idea of what to expect, both, in school and at work. I appreciate all your responses :)

Thank you all for your responses, they all were helpful. Gave me a better overall idea about this. :)

Nadia, good luck with your decision...just wanted to point out that there are pretty big differences in the average salaries of diagnostic ultrasound and polysomnographic techs. YOu can go on several sites to confirm, but US is approx $63G in 2009 and Poly is $47G. Also, there are about the same amount of jobs for US and poly techs as there are usually a team of 1-4 at each hospital or facility. I also do not wish to work nights, but I am sure that schedule would appeal to some.

Hmm, I'm wondering if those were just 2009 statistics, because right after graduating last year, as a new graduate I was hired for $25 an hour, no experience. Registered technicians can make upwards of anywhere from $30-$40 hourly depending on location, whether it's a private lab or hospital, etc...I actually interviewed for a job not too long ago at Palisades Hospital in North Bergen NJ, they wanted to start me off at $30 not even being registered. I could only imagine what their registered techs must have made then...But unfortunately I had to turn down that job because when I clocked it, it was 2 hours each way!...Working nights isn't for everyone, you definitely have to be a certain type of person to handle it. But the upside is that full time in this field is anywhere from 3-4 nights a week, which REALLY works out for me. I'll work 2 nights in a row, then have 3 days off in between, then work another night, then have another day or two off in between, etc...And the reason I loved and chose this field was because after getting burned with the whole ultrasound thing, I still wanted to find a job where I could work with people AND equipment/computers just like with ultrasound. But I do have to disagree about the job market being the same for the two. In my experience, with friends who have gone to school for u/s, fast forward 2 years later, they're still looking for jobs. I graduated & was able to find work within a month. You usally don't see that happen. Polysomnography is still kind of "under the radar", not many people know about it, or think to go to school for it. Unlike ultrasound where there are hoards of people going to school for it, and schools pumping out students by the hundreds every month..But anyway, that was just my decision, and I couldn't be happier with it. Good luck Nadia, you'll be fine and it'll all work out! :-)

Also, I just wanted to add, that there is also room for advancement in polysomnography too. You can take the RPSGT (Registerted polysomnography) exam through the BRPT (Board of Registered Polysomnography Technologists), it's the equivalent of what the ARDMS is with Ultrasound, to get yourself registered. I'm working on my RPSGT to hopefully get registered soon. Also, with a few yrs experience you can perform MSLT's (Mutliple Sleep latency tests), and those are only done in the MORNINGS, because they're to test for narcalepsy (not sure if I spelled that correctly). Also, MWT's (Mutliple Wakefullness tests), which again can only be performed during the day time. So some sleep techs choose to cross over to day time hours, but some choose to keep their night time hours...Also, you can also cross over to becoming a scoring technician. They are the ones who score the actual studies. We record the data, and the scoring techs break the studies down piece by piece.

Even though sleep techs have to know what it is we're looking at and we have to know how to score too, Scoring technicians get paid more & it's a branch off of being a sleep technian. Usually scoring techs have 5 yrs experience 1st as sleep tech's..Or, you can advance to an EEG tech, and that is to test pt's for seizures. You just have to know the whole EEG montage & the set up.

And as far as only "3-4 sleep tech's" working in a hospital at a time, I have to disagree with that statement, only because hospitals usually have very large sleep facilities, anywhere from 12-14 bed labs. So let's say you have a 12 bed lab, then that's 6 technicians (because it's 2 pt's per technician), then you have to factor in that full time in this field is only 4 nights per week, & the facility is probably open 7 days/nights), so those same techs aren't working 7 nights in a row. Therefore, their are more than only 3-4 sleep technicians working in a hospital.

ThatsMintttt in Staten Island, New York said: Also, I just wanted to add, that there is also room for advancement in polysomnography too. You can take the RPSGT (Registerted polysomnography) exam through the BRPT (Board of Registered Polysomnography Technologists), it's the equivalent of what the ARDMS is with Ultrasound, to get yourself registered. I'm working on my RPSGT to hopefully get registered soon. Also, with a few yrs experience you can perform MSLT's (Mutliple Sleep latency tests), and those are only done in the MORNINGS, because they're to test for narcalepsy (not sure if I spelled that correctly). Also, MWT's (Mutliple Wakefullness tests), which again can only be performed during the day time. So some sleep techs choose to cross over to day time hours, but some choose to keep their night time hours...Also, you can also cross over to becoming a scoring technician. They are the ones who score the actual studies. We record the data, and the scoring techs break the studies down piece by piece.

Even though sleep techs have to know what it is we're looking at and we have to know how to score too, Scoring technicians get paid more & it's a branch off of being a sleep technian. Usually scoring techs have 5 yrs experience 1st as sleep tech's..Or, you can advance to an EEG tech, and that is to test pt's for seizures. You just have to know the whole EEG montage & the set up.

You always have good information. Do you have to go to an accreded Polysomnography school like you do for ultrasound? How long does schooling take? Glad to hear you are happy and doing well in your work.

www.brpt.org/ Go to that website, there are phone #'s on there and ways to contact them through the website, that's the website for the board of registered polysomnography technologists..They'll guide you in the right direction as far as how to get into the field of polysomnography, they'll help you look up accredited schools in your area, etc....And thank you btw, yes I am seriously so happy with my decision! I feel like if I would've stayed trying to do ultrasound, I wouldn't have been as successful. And I wasn't tryint to look like a smarty pants on here eith people or act like it's a competition between the two professions. I just wish I had someone warn me and tell me things that I had to learn the hard way. It's like that cliche' saying, "If I knew then what I know now"..And then I had to correct that statement someone made about the salaries...And then something about only 1-4 sleep techs working in a hospital. I only know that's not the case because hospitals have large sleep facilities with anywhere from 12-14 beds, with 2 pt's to a technician, so it's more than just 1 or 4 techs working a night. Anyway, hope all works out for you.

Nadia in Rochester, New York said: I'm so confused now!!! I thought I had it all figured out. Is there any other ultrasound besides ob that may involve less of blood and bodily fluids? I mean, if u want to have a good job, everyone has to study hard. I know it's not going to be easy-breezy. But I can't just back off from each major/ program because it requires a lot of studying or other stuff that people wrote here. If I go to school in KY, I think I might just stay there after school cuz as I said, my sister lives there. Shes saying. That unlike in other states they dont have job shortages. I mean I don't know about ultrasound on particular, but just overall. I feel like some people are telling me that I won't be able to do it because it requires a lot of studying, can't find jobs, blood, bodily fluids. I don't know, but there is no EASY way for anything. Unless someone sits home, and does nothing. Nothing is easy, I understand, that's why everyone goes to school, because it's not easy- one needs to study for it. I feel , bit that's what I feel, that everyone basically over here is trying to tell me not to go for ultrasound?

did u look into cardio? that should be less.

Hi,

I am really interested in pursuing a career/certification in Diagnostic Medical Sonography and becoming an Ultrasound Tech, although I am having some trouble figuring out the best route. I feel like I've done so much research and am very stuck. A little background, I have my Bachelors in Communication from SDSU, am currently at Santa Ana College taking whatever science courses I can, just got an internship at Hoag Hospital through their Clinical Care Extender program with COPE Health Solutions, and am a Volunteer at St. Joe's in Orange.

I have been looking at OCC's DMS program and it's a 5 year waitlist. Cypress College's program seems to be the same way, so I've started looking at Charles Drew University, which is listed on CAAHEP's list of accredited programs, but there is ZERO info on their website about the program AND I've heard shotty reviews on that University. (No disrespect to that school, just stating what I've heard.) I've started looking at schools that I can just enroll in, such as Newbridge, so I can just get into a program. I'm worried about the ARDMS testing, etc. and what will set me back by not attending a CAAHEP accredited school, etc. If anyone can give me some advice on what is the best route and how I should go about doing this, I would REALLY appreciate it. Literally, I feel like my head is going to explode every time I get online to research this or even think about it.

Thanks!
Tory

Nadia, if you're still interested, look into Echocardiography. I specialize in cardiac and vascular ultrasound, if you're looking for less bodily fluids, cardiac would be the way to go. However, keep in mind, now a days, there's a growing trend where employers find echo techs who can also do vascular ultrasound, valuable. The thing with vascular though, is once in a while you'll get those diabetic patients or people with really bad varicose veins. Some of their diseases would've progressed so far to the point where they start to develop ulcers on their legs. I'm not trying to scare you or deter you, but I'm just trying to help open your eyes because at some point in the medical field, especially in this career, it will only be a matter of time before you encounter another person's bodily fluids.

Even if you strictly do echo, you'll have patients who are on dialysis, who are in wheelchairs, you'll even have some elderly people who might have accidents on the bed while you scan them.. its inevitable. You have to expect on some level you'll encounter this, granted, it will not be as much as if you were a nurse, but don't assume you'll never run into an otherwise unfortunate situation. Once you're ok with that, by all means shoot for it.

I am looking to go to a good school that students actually graduate and gets a good job from it like InfoTech or PCI College never heard of it so does anybody know any information or suggests any schools I should go to.

Hi I am looking into going to school medical assisting any suggestions so far I'm looking into PCI college and InfoTech college. PCI college I'm really looking into does anybody have any information about the school? Will it help me career wise? Would I get a job going to this school?

JL-- Have you sat for the exam yet? Did Eastwick prepare you well for it? I'm interested in attending, but have some reservations. Please respond!

jl in Sloatsburg, New York said: I am the same age, I am almost done with Ultrasound program at Eastwick College in Ramsey NJ. They took some of my college credits from my bachelors degree, but did not require me to have one. You just need to take a math/english assessment test to see if you need remedial courses in these subjects - which they teach. Medical Assisting is required with the curriculum. I visited Sanford Brown in White Plains, they wanted to make me take the Medical Assisting separately, the whole thing would have cost $40K.

niki in Scotch Plains, New Jersey said: When I spoke to a rep at Eastwick, they told me that the externship would cost an additional 3,000$. Did you find that to be true also? I find it rediculous to have to pay for an extern or internship.There are non-for-profit schools that do not make you pay for work you are doing. They also say that there may be a long wait list for the externship and that you must have a B average or better to secure that externship. I also find it hard to understand why one needsd a MOA certificate to become a DMS. That is like a law school making a student obtain a certificate in stenography, court reporting and be a balif. I feel this is a deceptive way to get more money from a student. A DMS does not need to know billing/insurance procedure/or need to take blood. They work very closely with the doctor to diagnose certain pathologies-not file paperwork.If I wanted to be a MOA I would just take that course and proceed on my career. I find it very sad and disturbing that these schools are robbing many students.

check out "NEVER EVER EVER GO TO HOHOKUS RETS IN NUTLEY NJ" this school is ridiculous. I wish I had did better research, live and learn I guess, but they will not be getting my 3,000 to work for free and pay all kinds of travel expenses. I have a friend who gets a paid intership, minimum wage but its better then nothing, just need to do your research. I look at it like I can save 3,000 and find my own job since the one their placing me in will cost me another 3,000 just to work there.

Iris in Brooklyn, New York said: Hi, I went to Sanford Brown Institute (NYC) yesterday. And they told since I have no exper. or Health background. I will not be able to start the SONO tech program. I will have to start by entering the Medical Assitant program and then switch over the Sono tech program. Is this correct???

not true at all!!!! it's all about the money!!! i went there and i was a fool who fell for it!!! i found out after it was already too late.

I have been a tech for 19 years! I went to UDS back in 1992. I have beeen an ultrasound tech since I graduated in NEW YORK and never been without a job. I am not registered and I have been trying to take the ARDMS test and I do not fall into any of the ARDMS pre requisites and they will not let me take the test because my crappy school was not accredited. I am going crazy taking the CCI exam which will put me in the category that ARDMS will accept!!! I failed the CCI (RVS) 2 times because I am not a vascular or cardiac tech. I specialize in Breast sonography, OB/GYN. I do vascular and everything else, but it's not my specialty! I am going crazy trying to figure out a way to make this happen. I know if I sit for the ARDMS I will pass with no problem. Maybe I am missing something and there is a way to take this test that is tormenting my life. If anyone knows of a way please let me know! Odly enough I do have 2 jobs as an ultrasound tech but I want my registry!

Hi! im so happy to have found this forum! Im still in the process of taking my prerequisites for SUNY downstate diagnostic medical imaging program. But im trying to finish up fast so im jumping from different schools alittle to apply in september. Is is ok that i have transcripts from 3 different schools? I have a 3.5 gpa and i have health-work and community service experience but will my jumping around and my 3.5 effect their decision in accepting me?
Please help!
Thank you!

Melissa in Bronx, New York said: Hi! im so happy to have found this forum! Im still in the process of taking my prerequisites for SUNY downstate diagnostic medical imaging program. But im trying to finish up fast so im jumping from different schools alittle to apply in september. Is is ok that i have transcripts from 3 different schools? I have a 3.5 gpa and i have health-work and community service experience but will my jumping around and my 3.5 effect their decision in accepting me?
Please help!
Thank you!

Hi. If you ever are in need of a model patient to have for practice scanning or for classroom exams or tests, I have volunteered for that before. I am in the NYC area.

Hi Melissa, I am just finishing up my program in Clifton, NJ, and it didn't matter where my credits were from for my school. Hopefully it will not be an issue for yours. I hear that Suny is a great program. Good luck with ultrasound! Be ready to study and work hard, it is intense!

Katie frm nyc said: I have called hospitals & have been asking them questions as well...LIJ was very helpful if you need more help feel free to email me @
Dsprincess@tmail.com
Anytime .

I am considering going back to school. I am a PTA in NY, but haven't actively practiced in 5 years. Was laid off with the Medicare caps and have working in the same office for the past 5 years. Just found out that they will be cutting my position down to part time so wanted to take advantage of it and go back to school. I feel that US tech would be a great fit for me but am so confused about where to go and what I would need to apply. I am a few years shy of 50 and wanted to know if you all think that this is a good career choice for someone who is over the age of 40.

Any help you could shed would be appreciated.

Barbara, I am also just shy of 50 and I am just finishing up an US program. I don't think our age is a big problem in the field. People seem to appreciate my maturity and responsibility in comparison to some of the younger students. You do have to be ready to study very hard as the physics is brutal. I went to a program in NJ right outside NYC if you want the info. Good Luck! Tracie

tracied in Doylestown, Pennsylvania said: Barbara, I am also just shy of 50 and I am just finishing up an US program. I don't think our age is a big problem in the field. People seem to appreciate my maturity and responsibility in comparison to some of the younger students. You do have to be ready to study very hard as the physics is brutal. I went to a program in NJ right outside NYC if you want the info. Good Luck! Tracie

Traci, thank you so much for taking the time to respond to me. I am reading so many scary things about US techs graduating and not being able to find jobs. I am afraid of spending the money and time to do the program and then come out with a degree that I won't be able to utilize. I went to a PTA school in NY and it was the toughest 2 years of my life, and despite it all, I graduated with a 4.0 average. I don't think I ever worked so hard in my life. I am not afraid to study, but am worried about the future of the field. Everywhere you look online someone tells a different story. What has been your experience with this? I guess I should also mention that I am doing this on my own with no one to fall back on which makes it even scarier for me.

ThatsMintttt in Staten Island, New York said: www.brpt.org/ Go to that website, there are phone #'s on there and ways to contact them through the website, that's the website for the board of registered polysomnography technologists..They'll guide you in the right direction as far as how to get into the field of polysomnography, they'll help you look up accredited schools in your area, etc....And thank you btw, yes I am seriously so happy with my decision! I feel like if I would've stayed trying to do ultrasound, I wouldn't have been as successful. And I wasn't tryint to look like a smarty pants on here eith people or act like it's a competition between the two professions. I just wish I had someone warn me and tell me things that I had to learn the hard way. It's like that cliche' saying, "If I knew then what I know now"..And then I had to correct that statement someone made about the salaries...And then something about only 1-4 sleep techs working in a hospital. I only know that's not the case because hospitals have large sleep facilities with anywhere from 12-14 beds, with 2 pt's to a technician, so it's more than just 1 or 4 techs working a night. Anyway, hope all works out for you.

You definitely sound informed and provided a lot of information. I am just curious what age group you fall in. The reason I am asking is that I am in my mid 40's and was looking to return to school since they will be dropping my job down to part time and I feel that this is like a crucial time for me to make a new career for myself. Are there people in your program who fall into my age group. I mean, it seems kind of difficult to not only stay awake, but also alert all night. Also, when I googled the salaries, it did show that the average in NY is abot $48,000 for sleep tech and $63,000 for US tech.

Hi Barbara, I don't think any training is a sure fire job in this economy. I do think that there are many advances in ultrasound that are making it used more often in more settings. They are now using it for vascular ablation, high intensity US is being used to kill tumors without surgery, and 3D/4D is starting to be used for diagnostic purposes...It's always going to be taking a chance when you go back to school. I know that most of the students that graduated a semester before me at my school are now working. I don't think you can expect your perfect job right after graduation and may have to accept PRN work to get your toe in the door somewhere. Some schools do not graduate students that are eligible to sit for registry immediately after graduating and this is also an issue with getting hired. You would need to go to a CAAHEP school if you do not have a bachelors degree or an allied health degree( I would imagine your PTA certification would apply here). CAAHEP schools are few and far between and some have long waiting lists. If you qualify with the allied health, then you can go to a non CAAHEP school and be eligible to sit for registry right away. This is huge in the market to get hired. Absolutely do not throw your time and money away entering a program if you are not registry eligible upon graduation. Also make sure that they set up your internships for you. You will need to intern unpaid for a full year to complete a program. Good Luck! Tracie

Hi Tracie,

I guess I don't know which direction to go. There are a few schools in NY that are CAAHEP certified, but then I read about Downstate not supervising scans and that seems so odd. When I went to school to be a PTA, I didn't just want to get grades but also wanted to make sure I could be the best PTA I could possibly be so that any patient I treated would get the best care that I could provide. That is the way I wanted to approach this. I do have an AAS as a PTA, so perhaps that would open up other schools for me, however, everywhere I look people all say that you should only go to a CAAHEP school.

Where do you think I could go to get definitive information about this as well as the internship access? I also have a BBA in Marketing from Hofstra but don't see how that would be relevant to getting an US degree.

It is so different than going to PTA school. There was competition to get in, but I made it in on my first try. At the time I graduated, there was an oversaturation in the field, but I busted my hump to get a job and I did. I am not afraid of taking the difficult road, but don't want it to lead to a dead end.

Barbara,
I also heard that about Suny, that they don't supervise the students when they are scanning...which seems completely backwards to me. The physics and anatomy and all of that is very important, but scanning is the most important of all. You need skilled teachers to explain how to use the natural windows in the body to get the correct views and how to use certain breathing and positioning techniques with patients for specific scans. I would interview the schools you are interested in and make sure they provide supervision and actual classes in hands on scanning. I have also heard people on here who's schools only give them one physics class. You have to sit for a seperate SPI physics exam, so I would also make sure that you get a full year of physics.
If you haven't yet, you should probably also go on the ARDMS website and look at the area that gives the different requirements to sit for registry. According to that, you can have a bachelors degree in any subject, or I believe an associates in an allied medical area, and with a non CAAHEP school, be just as qualified to sit for registry. My school is not CAAHEP, and I am doing my intership in a teaching hospital. I have discussed my school VS some of the other schools that they also accept interns from, and they are equally happy with the students from mine.
I did research for 2 entire years to decide what to go back to school for, and what school was the best fit for me. So far, I am happy with my decisions and really enjoy ultrasound. I finish my training in a few weeks and will start job hunting. I do understand that I may have to work hard to find the right job.
If you want to contact me directly, you can email me at traciedunn123@yahoo.com

ThatsMintttt in Staten Island, New York said: Hmm, I'm wondering if those were just 2009 statistics, because right after graduating last year, as a new graduate I was hired for $25 an hour, no experience. Registered technicians can make upwards of anywhere from $30-$40 hourly depending on location, whether it's a private lab or hospital, etc...I actually interviewed for a job not too long ago at Palisades Hospital in North Bergen NJ, they wanted to start me off at $30 not even being registered. I could only imagine what their registered techs must have made then...But unfortunately I had to turn down that job because when I clocked it, it was 2 hours each way!...Working nights isn't for everyone, you definitely have to be a certain type of person to handle it. But the upside is that full time in this field is anywhere from 3-4 nights a week, which REALLY works out for me. I'll work 2 nights in a row, then have 3 days off in between, then work another night, then have another day or two off in between, etc...And the reason I loved and chose this field was because after getting burned with the whole ultrasound thing, I still wanted to find a job where I could work with people AND equipment/computers just like with ultrasound. But I do have to disagree about the job market being the same for the two. In my experience, with friends who have gone to school for u/s, fast forward 2 years later, they're still looking for jobs. I graduated & was able to find work within a month. You usally don't see that happen. Polysomnography is still kind of "under the radar", not many people know about it, or think to go to school for it. Unlike ultrasound where there are hoards of people going to school for it, and schools pumping out students by the hundreds every month..But anyway, that was just my decision, and I couldn't be happier with it. Good luck Nadia, you'll be fine and it'll all work out! :-)

HELLO COULD I EM QUESTIONS ABOUT POLYSOM TECHS?? CKARAM3729@AOL.CO

30-40 is awfully high for most of the country. I've heard of that on parts of the east coast. North Carolina seems to pay well for the salary numbers I've seen there. The South and Midwest are much lower than 30 even for experienced, registered techs, although there are a few places that pay for experience. Many labs in IL, even in Chicago area top out around 24/hr. no matter what your experience level. So if you're drooling over the salary numbers it all depends on where you are and what their true need for techs happens to be. I talked to one person in California who offered to pay quite a bit even for a trainee. But this guy is forced to work 18+ hour days for 5 days a week at least just to keep things running.