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3rd Trimester
My PSA about U/S techs
After some research on my part, due to our experience with Anakin, I've discovered some information that I feel like you all should be aware of/look into.
My state (and all states as far as I've found out so far) do not have requirements for training, continuing education, or certifications for ultrasound technicians. U/S techs, especially those at doctor's offices, are likely to have minimal training or be training on-the-job.
This is not to say all u/s techs. For example, my u/s tech for this pregnancy has voluntarily gotten certified through ARDMS which requires an exam as well as continuing education. She was just telling me of a conference she just returned from where most of the attendees were being trained (almost entirely) on-the-job.
I don't know about how you would feel, but I've been pretty angry with myself that I allowed someone to do ultrasounds on me with the assumption that she was, in fact, a well-trained ultrasound technician. It seems that some u/s techs are people who had some course or rotation on it while getting a completely different degree (rad tech, nursing, etc...).
I know that we talk about ultrasounds all the time and complain about techs. Well, maybe there's a reason that they do things that we think are off. And for any u/s techs out there, this is not meant to be a personal attack on you. Also, this is a PSA for you to be aware of, not take as gospel because, of course, I do not know everything.
I just felt the need to share what I've learned thus far, especially seeing how u/s heavy the board has been today.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: My PSA about U/S techs
Wow...that is interesting.
I'm very lucky then that my doctor does all my u/s's in his office. I've never had to deal with a tech!
HisLobster,
I'm a Pulmonary Tech, and while not a u/s tech, we are trained and educated in the same ways. I have gotten my certification and have 5 years of on-the-job experience. I also do testing on patients, but the tests are given to Doctors to be read, same as u/s techs.
While I understand your concern and anger that someone doing your test could have been very new to the job (as I might be also), I hope that you also understand that there are "techs" out there that are good at their jobs, know the information, and would never try to give you more than they are qualified to give.
I also don't know how "skilled" an u/s tech needs to be, but I know in my field, there are many checks and balances to ensure that the testing is done properly. I would imagine that if the scan was that involved, that it would be necessary for more schooling before a person is allowed to perform u/s.
Maybe the best thing for people to do is to ask for credentials before scheduling. I would be very offended if someone told me that I wasn't "skilled" enough to do their test. I believe I have more than enough skills/knowledge to get accurate test results, however, I would never say that I am capable of "reading/diagnosing" their test results.
I don't mean to sound mean, I just hope you aren't putting down the tech position (maybe its just the way I read your post, it seemed like it). Its a very valuable position full of many skilled and professional individuals.
I will also say there are some out there that, as you say, are going for a degree in nursing, so not all are serious about the job, but there are a lot of us who are good and what we do.?
I need to add something, and I've written it a hundred times, but u/s techs are NOT trained to read and/or interpret images. They are trained to get the images ordered by your doctor, and then your DOCTOR will interpret the images for you.
They're also not there to host a play-by-play of your scan, scan anything that wasn't ordered, or even so much as give you pictures of the baby (albeit a nice gesture if they do)
Don't get mad at the techs if they don't answer every question you throw at them or don't give you pictures or whatever - that's not what they're there for.
I'm not a tech, but I have 2 friends who are, and I think it's important that women are aware of the real role of the u/s techs during their pregnancy.
DDK,
In my field, we also were not allowed to explain test results or give a diagnosis.?Occasionally, a patient would ask me to explain the results, (which were percentages, 100% meant exactly what is expected) and I would tell them pretty much that we expect a certain number and to look at the percentage to see where they fell. Normally I would also do this, only if they were seeing the doc afterwards, and give them a warning that nothing is final/real until the doc gives them the word.
I'm glad you mentioned that the techs are not required to give a play by play, because we aren't and I wasn't certain that u/s techs weren't, but typically, a tech position cannot give out results.
I agree with you that it is nice when they do, but I'm sure your right about u/s techs and it not being part of their job.
If we gave out test results, and they were incorrect, we could loose our job, and I'd imagine it would be the same for an u/s tech.?
Oh, I completely agree. There are u/s techs (ob is what I'm specifically referring to) who are very trained, care about keeping up with what's new in the field, etc... In fact, I have one of those techs in my doctor's office this pregnancy and I absolutely LOVE her. This isn't about telling me what's going on, but it is about being a trained professional who is performing a task on you (especially when you think of internal vaginal u/s). There are schools for this and I think that's great.
But I don't think that one course on ultrasounds twenty years ago qualifies you for sticking an ultrasound wand up my vagina (just sayin'). And this is definitely not about techs. Many of the tech positions are trained and credentialed differently, as far as I've found. To some extent, all health fields get some training on the job because of the advances in technology and science, but there's no one to say that your tech knows any of that unless there is some oversight, which for u/s techs isn't required. It definitely does not apply to all u/s techs, but it's more common than not where I'm at and I think that others should be aware.
Hello...I am a registered OB sonographer. Im not sure how things work in other states, but in Maryland, any job I have ever applied for requires school or being registered by the ARDMS. If you are not registered, they usually give you a year before they have to ask you to leave. I know at one time, sonographers could be crosstrained into the field and I would assume there are still many of those sonographers out there and I would imagine that they have become ARDMS accredited. I dont know if people are still able to do this. I woudl think that at this point in time, unless someone was registered, a hospital would not hire someone with out the classroom training.
Someone mentioned that sonographers are not trained to interpret images. I would hope that they are trained to do so because if they are working in a radiology office where they scan and leave thier images for the doctor to go over 2 hours later, I would hope if something were wrong with a fetus (or any other type of scan) that that sonographer would be able to know what other images they need in order for the physician to interpret. That is what we learn in school, abnormal findings and for a sonographer to work somewhere for a while and not be able to identify common abnormalites is sad and scarry. However, we are not allowed to dictate these findings to the patient as we dont know everything and sometimes there are findings we dont commonly see.
I have to say in my personal experience, I would prefer any of my friends and family to have thier OB sono's done by a level II place. Those radiology offices scare me and they are just a factory...get the patient in and out. They send us a lot of crazy things, and unessessary findings that worry patients over nothing. You have to realize that they look at everything from adult thyroids to mens testicles to breasts and babies. They are not exactly specializing in babies which is a little scary to me because OB is just a whole other world which the smallest thing can be missed by someone who isnt specially trained in looking at them. I mean, we look at 3 views of the fetal heart and if your not trained to figure out which artery/vein should be coming out of which ventricle and how to tell which side is which, you can miss a major cardiac anomaly. Im not even sure that all places are required to have these 3 important images, it may just be a 4 chamber view they need which is not sufficient.
This isnt to scare anyone, but Im just saying that there are good sonographers and bad sonographers. I personally was trained in a school where Id be cautious of the sonographers coming from that school because it was not accredited and really what you got out of the program was what you put into it or how well your site supervisors trained you and some of the people who graduated from there scare me. However, there are others who are wonderful, competent sonographers....you just never know which one is doing your scan! I am lucky to have been hired by an awesome hospital who definitely made me a great and very competent OB sonographer in what I know and how I scan...
YES YES YES!! haha, so many patients come in and will just drill us with questions. I personally havent found the best way to say it and sound nice, but I mean, sometimes Id just like to say "would you like to quiz me on my machiene and whats in the images or would you prefer me to concentrate on your child?" Ultrasound looks easy (which my husband annoys me because he thinks my job is cake because it doesnt look hard)...but its really tough most of the time!