Tanesha Tanner
LE 1200
April 2014
Informational Interview
I decided to interview a person who is in the medical field, Diagnostic Medical
Sonography to be exact. It is something that I have recently been looking into and found
to be pretty interesting without having to give shots or be around blood and/or any other
disgusting medical things. I went to the Jordan Valley Hospital and asked a few of those
in this field some questions, which have further interested me to go into this career field.
After spending an hour at the hospital and asking many-many questions I was
able to acquire some great information to help me further understand this career. The
information I gathered included what an ultrasound is and what the daily duties consisted
of. Of those I interviewed, all loved their job and wouldn’t change it. They loved meeting
new patients and listening to the patient’s stories. I was told that helping people is one of
the greatest feelings and makes a great career. They said there was nothing they really
didn’t like about this field. Tasks performed by an ultrasound technician include:
preparing patients for the ultrasound exam and explaining the procedure, gathering
patient histories, using ultrasound equipment to scan the area of the body that is under
examination, analyzing ultrasound data, archive ultrasound images on a computer, and
providing an oral or written summary of the findings to the physician.
I was able to find out that an ultrasound technician, formally known as a
sonographer, belongs to the field of diagnostic digital imaging. They rely on an
instrument known as a transducer that transmits high frequency sound waves into the
patient’s body. The sound waves would bounce off the target organ, resulting in echoes
that would be captured by the instrument and converted into visual images.
Also, ultrasound procedures can examine various structures of the body, including
the abdomen, heart, blood vessels, and female reproductive system. Different parts of the
body require different techniques, so there are several major specializations that a
sonographer can choose from: abdomen & breast, fetal echocardiography, pediatric and
adult echocardiography, neurosonology, obstetrics and gynecology, along with vascular
technology.
I was told because of technology advancement, this field will always be changing
and improving in some way or another. As an ultrasound tech., I could be making
anywhere around $65,000. However it depends on several factors such as number of
years of experience, place of employment, geographical location of the establishment,
type of establishment and education. Ultrasound technicians do not receive much bonus
on their salary, but there are other benefits that come with the job. Benefits such as social
security, paid vacations, pension, 401K and healthcare contributions.
I really enjoyed learning about ultrasounds and think it is something that I would
really like doing. I want to look more into it and find out about the different schools and
programs I could attend. This interview was very helpful to me and I am thinking of
doing another one at different hospitals to ensure that this is something that I would really
like to do.