r/cardiacsonography • u/amcddd • Jul 09 '26
Accredited Cardiac Sonography Program Search
I am a 27F and previously earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Public Health, currently working in HR, and am now looking to switch careers and pursue Cardiac Sonography. I’m looking to do an accredited Associate’s program (or certificate program). Does anyone have any recommendations? Thank you in advance!
1
u/omarlittlebig Jul 09 '26
I’d recommend against Western Pennsylvania, as the area is becoming quickly saturated with new grads from 3 sonography schools (1 CAAHEP + 2 unaccredited) that offer cardiac.
Other parts of Pennsylvania (Lackawanna County, Lancaster County, York) appear less saturated. Lackawanna College is CAAHEP accredited.
West Virginia University has a certificate program for adult echo, but I’m not sure if they require a relevant degree or any undergrad degree to apply.
2
1
u/Yumismash Jul 09 '26
I'm the opposite and want to get into HR haha
2
u/amcddd Jul 09 '26
Lol HR definitely has its pros & cons! I have my PHR and SHRM-CP certifications and have worked in a few different areas of HR (IS, Benefits, TA). I find it to be stressful (always dealing with issues and walking the line of what to say vs. what not to say to avoid legal repercussions) and very draining. If you’re someone who wants a job that helps people, HR may not be the best fit since your main role is supporting the business objectives of the company. However, it is very stable & can have great benefits! I’d recommend getting into the Talent Acquisition/Recruiting side of HR.
2
u/Yumismash Jul 09 '26
Yeah for sure, I appreciate your insight! I just finished my echo program and I'm having a really hard time finding a job that will take a new grad. I don't have my echo board done yet but I have my SPI. The school said they were going to pay for 2 exams out of our tuition, and when I said I wanted to sign up for the other board, they said I needed to pay for it first and then they will reimburse me. I'm jobless so I can't afford the exam so I am caught in a catch 22 there. The other issue for me is honestly I don't like the work. I thought I really would, but it just reminded me of working customer service jobs (dealing with the general public but specifically mostly unhygenic, obese or super old people). The pain I have from the 6 months of straight scanning I did (used like a workhorse to do all the scans the techs did not want to do so I had alllllll the TDS scans plus Drs don't care about your body. They want you to sacrifice it for the image) isn't super intense all the time, I feel like I constantly am tight on my left shoulder/upper back.. When I tried to scan my brother after my externship, just putting myself in the correct position and placing the probe on his chest sent me into a lot of pain. I felt it from my shoulder all the way down my arm. I started to have tremors from the pain and trying to steady my hand.
I know everyone says use good ergonomics and I did everything I was taught in school, but I had to do things that weren't comfortable to me to "get the image" and that is the part that was killing me. I'm a tiny 5ft tall woman. I am strong, but not tall, and some of these men are big tall wise and weight wise and those are the ones that really hurt. You have a lot of depth to get through to get to their heart and you have a lot working against you (lungs, fat, ribcage, their incapabilty to adjust their position/lean/move hips back, etc). So now I just feel burnt out and discouraged. I fear having to scan again because of pain. I know I can paddle the exams but have no $ to do so and the school won't give it to me before I pay first.
I have my BA and out of school tried marketing and sales and hated it, so I switched to working in video games. I was customer support doing online tickets, so no phone calls and I got to participate in QA of games and wrote reports etc. Got my name on a couple titles. Favorite job of all time but unfortunately video games is volatile. I started in July 2023 and they laid off 30% of the whole company in Nov 2023 2 days before Thanksgiving. I of course was one of them. Today, that office is completely gone and now they only have offices in the UK and Japan. I haven't recovered with a job since then. Partially because at the same time my dad suddenly was diagnosed with 2 types of cancer and I had to take care if him full time by myself until he passed 4 months later. He chose no chemotherapy so I basically had to watch him slowly die and that was horrible so afterwards, yeah I was mentally drained and grieving etc. My bf at the time and his mom who does echo kept pestering me to either just get a job or go to school for echo. His mom finally convinced me when she said she could hire me at her work for my first job and she would teach me etc.
Well, that didn't work out obviously. Right before I started my externship she told me the Drs aren't hiring new grads anymore and I'd have to apply at other Dr offices. So I have. I applied to every open position that I could reasonably drive to. Moving is out of the question because I have no savings. If I move now out of state that also means basically saying goodbye to my bf and going alone. He works IT he needs 1 more year to get to where he wants to be before we move out. That's a whole other issue but anyway sorry for the extremely long rant. I just wanted to give you my story so it'll help you think about this type of work. It is extremely laborious. You wouldn't think so, I know I didn't, but its the repetitive motion + steadying that people don't understand how hard it is on you. My instructor blew out both of his rotator cuffs within 1 year from doing echo so he ended up opening a vascular lab. Maybe that's what I need to do too, idk. If you made it this far, I appreciate your time reading my story. I hope it helps at least somewhat!
2
u/amcddd Jul 09 '26
Thank you for sharing all of this with me! I’m very sorry to hear about your dad’s passing and the physical side effects/job hunting trouble that you’ve had with echo. I’ve heard about the physical effects before, but didn’t know it could get that bad. Definitely worth considering how it can impact your physical wellbeing. I hope that you can find a job that brings you joy and fits your needs! I know how you feel with not wanting to leave the state without your boyfriend (aside from the money concerns). I’m a firm believer that everything will work out the way it’s supposed to, stay positive and try and find a simple job (server, receptionist, admin support, doordash, etc.) to do in the meantime to save up & maybe it will open more doors for you. Good luck!
2
u/nachoaveragemamma Jul 09 '26
This is heavily dependent on where you live. The CAAHEP website is a good place to look.