• Echocardiographers
    • Job opportunities and salaries in the healthcare specialty of Echocardiography have been rising steadily over the last few years and the US Department of Labor predicts another 26% increase in the need for Echocardiographers by the year 2016. Cardiac Sonographers are ranked in the Top 10 Best Paid positions for associate degree careers. Further more, skilled Echo Techs enjoy a rewarding career that balances high-tech expertise with compassionate care of the individual.
    • Echocardiographer.net has assembled the most complete and up-to-date look at the Echocardiographer job market, salary trends, training requirements, licensing, and certification information, that our readers will find anywhere on the internet. We tell you the states that are most in need of Echo Techs, what kinds of employers offer the best paying Cardiac Sonographer jobs, and what it takes to become a successful Echocardiography professional. Visit us often for the most current happenings in this rewarding healthcare field.
    • Click HERE to find Echocardiography Jobs everywhere in the nation...
Echocardiographer Forum

  • Mayo School of Health Sciences


    echocardiograph educationOne echocardiography school that offers a great program is the Mayo School of Health Sciences. The school offers an 18-month echocardiography program with campuses in Rochester, Minnesota and Scottsdale, Arizona. Live lectures are given at the Rochester campus and students at the Scottsdale campus are able to attend the lectures by interactive, video-enabled classrooms. This system allows for live, face-to-face interaction between students and professors. The program consists of lectures as well as hands-on clinical experiences to create a well-rounded, experienced cardiac sonographer.

    To apply for admissions to the echocardiography program students should have completed a two-year health science program in a field such as radiography, respiratory care or nursing. You may also apply if you have a high school diploma and have completed certain courses including algebra, anatomy and physiology, English, a medical terminology course, and a patient care course, such as those required for a CNA or RMA license. Echocardiography schools are very competitive and candidates who have completed a two-year allied health science program are more likely to be considered.

    Approximately 11 students are accepted into the echocardiography program on a competitive basis each year, eight students from the Rochester campus and three students from the Scottsdale campus. The small amount of students accepted to the program allows the classroom and clinical groups to have one-on-one instruction with professors. The echocardiography school at the Mayo School of Health Sciences is a full time program. Your schedule will include eight hour days, five days a week.

    Echocardiograms may be performed while the patient is either resting or exercising. Echo Techs may administer medication to physically active patients to assess their heart function when under stress. Cardiac Sonographers also assist with invasive transesophageal echocardiography, where the physician places a special tube in the patient’s esophagus to obtain ultrasound images.

    medical students
    The challenging curriculum for the cardiac sonography school is designed with courses in a specific order, gradually increasing your knowledge as you go through the program. Students are expected to attend all classes, exams and clinicals as well as maintain a GPA of 3.0 or above in each course. The academic coursework is combined with hands-on clinical rotations to enhance your learning experience. During clinical you will work under the supervision of a highly qualified cardiologist, cardiac Sonographers, and registered nurses. As a student in the echocardiography degree program you will have the opportunity to train or observe in the specialty areas of congenital echocardiography and stress echocardiography.

    Although educational requirements vary from state to state, the professional associations and credentialing bodies for Cardiac Sonographers have come a long way in promoting consistent education and skill requirements across the nation. Today the most common level of Echo Tech education is the Associates Degree.

    The first year is dedicated to core course work and the second to clinical experiences and specialty training in invasive or noninvasive cardiac ultrasound technology, or vascular ultrasound technology. Four year Bachelor's Degree programs are becoming much more common and the overall trend is toward more formal education and Echocardiographer licensing.

    As an echocardiographer student at the Mayo School of Health Science you will be working in state-of-the-art facilities at either campus. The Echocardiography Lab at the Rochester Campus is one of the largest echo laboratories in the world. It features diagnostic, therapeutic, educational and research facilities, with more than 30 full-feature scanning stations. The Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Lab in Arizona is one of the most progressive laboratories in the Southwest. They offer advanced echocardiographic analysis and 4-D technology, as well as comprehensive and detailed testing. They are active in clinical research and education as well as a clinical site for the students in the echocardiography program.

    After successfully completing the echocardiography program you will receive a certificate of completion from the Mayo School of Health Sciences. Before beginning the search for an echo tech job, new echocardiographers must pass a professional certification examination.

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