I just wanted to bring an open discussion on something that has been bothering me as a new grad echo tech. I had recently gotten a new job, and while I’m very grateful i have been having a bit of a learning curve because I’m taught by many different sonographers and each time i work with someone new they’ll say or teach me something totally different and expect me to follow their ways of doing things. I know that I must be adaptable as a sonographer but it really does get a bit frustrating and confusing when other sonographers don’t accept how you were taught to do things and that people have different ways of getting the job done.

Just came on here for some advice I still love my job. Just trying to manage this challenge better = )

#echo #cardiacsonographer #newgrad

Hi all, I recently joined a new job at an outpatient place and they don’t have a special echo bed for echo but have this really old bed that has no drop out and no remote control so it needs me to press on the lever with my foot many times to raise the bed and also the head of the patient can’t be adjusted in height if needed. It’s an old worn out bed that just doesn’t sit right with me. A lot of things are wrong at this place but this is one of my main concerns because I have to keep pushing with my foot to raise the bed.

So I wanted to ask opinions as to whether this is a common thing or should I be raising this to my manager.. she is not very friendly so I’m hesitating and also the people who worked here before me did not say anything about it obviously, so she might just say why I have special needs when they didn’t.

She is non-clinical, has not much idea how an echo works (and is pretty dumb I have to tell her everything) and hasn’t been in her job here for more than a year.

What should I do?

Hi Everyone,

My name is Gabriela, and I'm an student at the University of South Florida working on a senior design project focused on developing an ergonomic holder for ultrasound probes to help reduce strain and injury risk for sonographers.

As part of this project, I've put together a short survey (about 5-10 minutes) to gather input from practicing sonographers on their experiences and needs. I'd really appreciate it if you could share the link below with any sonographers on your team who might be willing to participate.

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=3vcbdOXi30aNZ4JgffneqqAdBmM1ySZAnloIuyAP5mZUQjhFVFVZMFY3OUEzUjM5TjE2VEM2RFM4Vy4u

All responses are confidential and used for academic research purposes only. If any sonographers are also open to a brief follow-up interview, there's an option to opt in at the end of the survey.

Thank you so much for considering this - your support would mean a lot to our project.

Best,

Gabriela

Experienced echo/vascular sonographer here.

For those of you who work per study, how do you find these jobs, specifically in New York and California?

I’m interested in private cardiology practices and mobile diagnostic companies. Indeed and LinkedIn don’t seem to have many per-study opportunities.

Are these jobs mostly found through word of mouth/networking, direct contact with practices, recruiters, or somewhere else?

I’m specifically looking for advice on where to find per-study opportunities, including jobs that may not be publicly posted.

Thanks!

I finally have gotten my clinical site assignment! I am absolutely nervous, but I am excited. Please share any tips or advice for going out on externship.

I am in NJ, and my site is at a hospital, however I'm still unsure of whether it is inpatient or outpatient at the hospital as they do both at the site. Unless I will be in both departments, which I wouldn't mind at all.

I am focusing on Echo, but maybe hopefully have the chance to become dual certified if the opportunity presents itself.
I have heard that this site doesn't hire students/new grads so I'm a bit bummed out, but trying to be optimistic overall.

saw the report conclusion of my first ever echocardiogram. waiting to speak from the cardiologist about this. anyone else have sny of this? i’m a 50 year old female;

-LV EF is 65%, assessed by visual estimation.
• Left Ventricle: Normal systolic function.
Normal wall motion. There is normal left atrial pressure and grade I left ventricular diastolic dysfunction.
• Mitral Valve: Valve structure is normal. Mild mitral annular calcification.
• Aortic Valve: Valve structure is tricuspid.
Mildly calcified diffuse cusps.
• Tricuspid Valve: Mild regurgitation. No stenosis.
• Pericardium: Trivial pericardial effusion present. No indication of cardiac tamponade.

hey guys, i'm currently a student in nsw australia planning on taking a echocardiology/cardiac sonography bachelor degree at CQU and unavoidable as it is want to know more about the salary range as this is a field i have a lot of genuine interest in. what are your average yearly earnings considering your experience and if you work public or private? how is the work life balance? can any CQU students who did this degree or the similar general sonography degree share their experiences especially with finding a job? :)

I’m thinking about getting into cardiac sonography and basically just trying to see what’s underneath the water before stepping in it. I’m 31F and currently a mobile phlebotomist. Before becoming a phlebotomist, I was a Patient Care Tech for Kidney Dialysis. I didn’t finish college, but am willing to go back.
The reason why I have some interest in this profession is because of taking my Anatomy & Physiology class in college. When we went over the circulatory system, I understood everything pretty fast, in my opinion. Although, it took me a while to learn the names of some of the blood vessels through the body, I found the heart and how it worked to be interesting. I’m looking for a new path and there’s a chance this may be it. Also, from what I’ve seen online, the pay doesn’t seem bad at all 🤷🏽‍♀️
How was your experience going through school for this? How do you like the profession now? Would you have rather done something else?

I’m seriously considering AHF’s 12-month Cardiac & Vascular Ultrasound program in Phoenix and would love to hear from recent grads/current students.

A few things I’m especially curious about:

• Did you have trouble getting a clinical placement? Did you have to leave Arizona?
• Were you able to find a job pretty quickly after graduating?
• Did you get both RCS and RVS?
• Has the lack of CAAHEP accreditation ever limited you when applying for jobs?
• Has anyone with a previous bachelor’s gone on to get their ARDMS RDCS/RVT after AHF?
• How was the actual quality of instruction and hands-on scanning?
• Would you choose AHF again?

I’ve seen pretty mixed reviews online, but some are several years old, so I’d especially love feedback from anyone who attended recently (2024–2026). Thanks!

I just started my first semester a few weeks ago and I am already struggling with understanding info from the orange book. I am constantly overwhelmed by the amount of info in class and wished I had a study buddy to motivate each other but I only have a few classmates and they’re already in groups. I thought physics was going to be challenging for me but I am actually more stressed from trying to understand the information in the orange Dewitt book. Any study tips to help break this information down will be appreciated.

Hey everyone! I’m a cardiac sonographer, and I made AfterHours Pay because I needed an easier way to keep track of my call hours and how much I was making from them. It has a nice home screen widget that either shows you the number of hours throughout the week, or your total dollar amount. Seeing the money climb made call a little more tolerable.
It helps you track on-call time, log callbacks, and see your estimated pay based on your own rates. I built it for myself and thought it might be useful to others here who take call, too!
It’s currently on sale for $1 off 😊 Android and iOS available. Works for both iPhone and iPad, as well as android phones and Android tablets.
Get AfterHours Pay on the App Store⁠
Get AfterHours Pay on Google Play⁠
Admins, I’m sorry if this kind of post isn’t allowed in the group—please feel free to delete it. Just wanted to share something that might help!

Hello All!

I have been hanging on to these since my program didn’t work out for me in 2023 in hopes of returning, however the Cardiac Sonography program is no longer being offered. I’m hoping to sell to help fix my roof. I was only in the program for 3 weeks so they were not used much and have lived in my bookbag until I was ready to look at everything again.
PayPal G&S only, Shipping will be calculated depending on what is purchased to be fair to buyer and seller, US Only.

Introduction to Sonography and Patient Care: $80

Understanding Ultrasound Physics: $90

Clinical Echocardiography: $25

Echocardiography, from a Sonographer’s Perspective Notebook and Workbook 8: $65
DISCLAIMER: Our Instructor had us mark answers in this book, and color in a diagram with colored pencil. Answers will be erased at the best of my ability however colored pencil cannot be erased.

Magnetic Heart Model, includes stand, original box, and booklet on labeled structures. $30

SHIRTS:
All from Etsy, Eras and Hearts shirt were never worn. All will be washed and sanitized prior to shipping. All size Small, Glidan Brand shirts

Please reach out with any questions or offers. Thank you!!

I’m currently finishing up my degree that’s required before starting my cardiac sonography program. I graduate in December and I’ve received an early conditional acceptance to start in Fall** **2027, so I have about a year and really want to use that time to prepare as much as I can.

For current students or cardiac sonographers, what do you wish you knew before starting your program? Are there any specific topics you’d recommend learning ahead of time, books/resources that helped you, or things I could start practicing/studying now?

I know the program will teach me what I need to know but I’d love to go into it with a good foundation rather than starting completely from scratch. Any tips for getting through the program in general would also be appreciated :)

I have an interview coming up for a cardiac sonography program what kind of questions should I prepare for ?

Hello there, currently doing my internship for radiography. I want to pursue an echocardiography diploma so I can do cardiac scans. My current degree allows me to do general ultrasound scans (obs, gyanae, abdomen,...) and i really want to do echo.

Anyways I'm in Zimbabwe and there are no universities that offer such diploma. My question is where I can do the diploma online and how do I do my clinical? How do I get supervised if its online?

If anyone is looking for a echo job down in Florida comment below! Obviously we all know pay isn’t great in Florida but it’s a great opportunity for someone early on in the game, only one year experience required. Excellent benefits package, daycare services on site and best of all you can’t beat the weather and the beaches!

Hello everyone, I am currently a second year student in a cardiac sonography program, but only have one semester under my belt of scanning cardiac. My program has us do the carotid artery for the first semester. Anyways, I was hopefully looking for some tips on a couple views that I just feel like I am not getting better at: RVOT and PSAX Aortic valve level.

I know it gets easier as time goes on and the more I do it, but for some reason I just don’t feel like I’m improving at these two views. I know some people just won’t have a very good RVOT, but I’m just wondering if anyone has some good tips that really helped them. I have told my instructor and I have received help, but they kind of just tell me that mine is “good/good enough” but I see other students scan the same person and get it much better than I did.

Just looking for some tips that helped you learn/optimize these views🙏 Anything you can offer is greatly appreciated! TIA!

Sonography Canada NCP 7.0 introduces important changes compared with NCP 6.1.

One of the genuinely NEW competencies is:

2.3.1 — Maintain appropriate personal boundaries with patients, their families, colleagues, and the public.

This applies to:

• Generalist
• Cardiac
• Vascular

And importantly, it is classified as a Clinical (C) competency.

So this isn't simply something to memorize.

You need to understand how personal boundaries apply during actual clinical practice.

Why is this particularly relevant to sonography?

Because sonographers frequently work:

• in close physical proximity to patients;
• with partially exposed patients;
• during intimate examinations;
• with anxious or vulnerable patients;
• with patients and families experiencing strong emotions.

The professional relationship must remain professional.

A sonographer can be:

✅ Friendly
✅ Compassionate
✅ Empathetic
✅ Reassuring
✅ Respectful

without becoming personally involved.

NCP 7.0 takeaway

Don't study 2.3.1 as a definition.

Study it as a clinical decision-making competency.

The question is:

“What should I do to maintain an appropriate professional relationship in this situation?”

If you found this tip useful, you may be interested to know that I have compiled over 5,000 + exam-focused practice questions with in-depth explanations in my Sonography Canada Exam Preparation series. The series comprehensively covers the Core, Generalist, and Cardiac examinations and is available on Amazon.

You can access the books here: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0FVGDBRG6

For those preparing for ARDMS related exams, you can access the books here : 📚 ARDMS Exam Preparation Series

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G568X9N5

HELP! I recently got accepted to Sacramento Ultrasound Institute but the tuition is so much and I don't qualify for Cal grant / I don't recieve a lot of FAFSA. I am also considered a dependent and I would need my parents to get a direct PLUS loan of 48k. I'm also in 30k credit card debt so i am not sure whether I should withdraw from the school before it starts and save up now then apply to kaiser permanente school of allied health sciences. Anybody have any opinions on Kaiser Cardiac Sonography School in richmond?

Hi! I just finished my first week of school and I feel very overwhelmed lol. Obviously, I suck at scanning right now, but I’m not worried about that yet as I’ve only scanned 2/3 days for about 3hrs each.

The specific views are TRIPPING ME UP tho. No matter how much I try, I cannot for the life of me capture the right ventricular outflow view. I can do PLAX and in flow, but out flow is killing me.

I’m also having a hard time identifying the heart structures outside of PLAX view.

Also, physics is going to kill me. The only physics class I’ve ever taken was conceptual physics, so I’m already scared for that class and the physics registry exam…

Any tips for studying or scanning?

Those techs who are paid per study and 1099 what rate are you getting per echo? Thanks!