Echocardiographer Job Description
Echocardiographers--also known as echocardiograph technicians or cardiac sonographers--use ultrasound images to examine the heart. They belong to a group of medical professionals who are trained to assist cardiologists in diagnosing and treating cardiovascular diseases.
Other People Are Reading
-
Role
-
Using the gel medium of echocardiogram machines, an echocardiographer records the echoes of the sound waves the patient's body produces. This creates images, which appear at the machine's screen. The echocardiographer can then give the images an initial interpretation to detect any abnormalities, and transform them into photographs or video for further examination by the supervising cardiologist.
Other Duties
-
Echocardiographers may be instructed to set echocardiography appointments for patients. They are also available to answer questions during procedures and compile medical histories of the patients to assist in diagnoses and recommended treatments.
-
Type of Cardiovascular Technologist
-
Echocardiographers use non-invasive technology, meaning that they do not insert any instruments into patients' bodies. This is in contrast with others such as cardiology technologists, who help cardiologists to perform cardiac catheterization, a procedure that involves inserting a small tube called a catherer through patients' artery via the groin. Also, while echocardiographers are concerned with heart and blood vessel problems, other cardiovascular technologists have a narrower focus; for instance, vascular technologists or vascular sonographers solely work with the diagnosis of circulation ailments.
Education
-
The minimum educational requirement for echocardiographers is an associate degree in echocardiography or cardiovascular technology, which can be earned from community colleges, technical schools or hospital programs within two years. There are also four-year undergraduate programs, however, that are increasing in popularity due to a wider scope of knowledge and training. The Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI) provides certification for echocardiographers.
Salary and Job Outlook
-
According to salary.com, as of 2010, the average echocardiographer makes an annual salary of about $61,000. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects job employment of echocardiographers--as of all cardiovascular technologists--to increase by 24 percent between 2008 and 2018; this is at a much faster rate than the average for all U.S. occupations in the same period.
-
