Echocardiography Technology Career
Echocardiography technologists use special equipment to observe and record data about the heart. They work directly with patients and cardiologists. An interest in the heart and a desire to know about its anatomy are musts for the potential employee. These medical professionals also should like to work with and learn about new technologies.
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Duties
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An ECG tech performs a variety of duties to assist a cardiologist in gathering medical data. The main duty is to use ultrasound to gather data that is used to assess the health of the heart. Other duties include operating and caring for testing equipment, scheduling appointments, explaining test procedures to patients, and looking for problems by comparing data to a standard. All duties are noninvasive. That means the testing takes place outside of the body.
Education
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The minimum educational requirement for an entry-level job is a two-year degree from a community college. Many employers require an additional professional credential that is attained through passing an examination. In order to obtain professional credentials, you should attend a program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Professionals. Some universities offer four-year degrees in this field. ECG techs also receive on-the-job training from employers.
Salary
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According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the national median wage for ECG techs in 2008 was $47,010. Salaries vary by place of employment. Those employed in physicians' offices earned a median salary of $48,590, while those who worked in hospitals earned a median wage of $46,670 in 2008. The salary range for this period was below $25,510 for the lowest 10 percent to more than $74,760 for the highest 10 percent.
Job Potential
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According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, jobs in the field are expected to grow 24 percent through the year 2018. This is due partly to the aging of the U.S. population and the pervasiveness of heart disease in the elderly. Heart disease is also being detected earlier because of advances in technology and people being aware of symptoms. This leads to more need for tests and thus more ECG techs. There is also the need for ECG techs due to attrition. As people retire, transfer or leave the medical field, their jobs need to be replaced.
Employment
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According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 77 percent of ECG techs are employed in a hospital setting. The remaining jobs were found in physicians' offices, or in medical and diagnostic laboratories. In 2008, ECG techs held 49,500 jobs in the United States.
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References
- Photo Credit ecg image by JASON WINTER from Fotolia.com
