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Cardiac Diagnostic Medical Sonography

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The Collins Career Center Cardiac Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Educational Programs (CAAHEP) upon the recommendation of the Joint Review Committee on Education in Cardiac Diagnostic Medical Sonography (JRC-DMS). JRC-DMS 6021 University Blvd, Suite 500 Ellicott City, MD 21043 443-973-3251 CAAHEP 25400 US Highway 19 North Suite 158 Clearwater, FL 33763 727-210-2350

2yrs. (excluding July) 4 days/week Chesapeake Campus

Information

• The Cardiac Diagnostic Medical Sonography program will provide education to students desiring a position as a medical sonographer in a hospital, clinic or physician's office. The program is designed to provide training in Adult echocardiography and vascular. The curriculum includes a combination of classroom, laboratory instruction, as well as clinical practice in area hospitals, offices, and clinics.

• The CArdiac Diagnostic Medical Sonography program is Six (6) semesters or twenty-two (22) months in length, as students are exempt from class the month of July. With the completion of the program, students will be eligible for the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers, in the areas of physics, Adult Echo, and Vascular.

Admission Requirements

• Approximately five students will be accepted per program/per year. The program is a two (2) year program. The following admission procedure will be followed:

• The Work Keys Exam is required for the program-see Work Keys link for more info. The only exception to the pre-entrance exam is an ACT score of 21 or above received within the past 3 years.

  Accepted test scores include:

  • 5 for Applied Math
  • 5 for Reading for Information
  • 4 for Locating for Information

• If you are concerned about being able to make required scores and you would like to "brush up" on some of your skills prior to the pre-entrance exam, the Collins Career Technical Center's ABLE program is available for tutoring services Monday-Thursday, 8:00am-4:30pm. For more information, please contact the Adult Education office at 740-867-6641 Ext. 410.

• Individuals with a passing score on all parts of the pre-entrance examination will be mailed an application packet for admission into the Cardiac Diagnostic Medical Sonography program. The application must be completed (in full) before the admission date (the last Friday of May) of each calendar year. There is a $10.00 application fee to be paid when the application is returned to Collins Career Technical Center.

Background Checks

• An electronic FBI Criminal Record Check is required for all health students prior to the beginning of the program.

• An OIG check is also required prior to the beginning of the program.

Advanced Placement Guidelines

1. Students requesting admission to the school via transfer from another approved school of Cardiac Diagnostic Medical Sonography shall meet the school's current admission requirements and curriculum requirements for currently enrolled students.
2. Students must submit an official transcript from an approved school listing completed courses.
3. Students must submit copies of course outlines for which they are requesting credit. Faculty will review transcripts and outlines to determine admission.
4. Challenge examinations and skills assessments will be required to determine applicants' competencies.
5. Tuition and fees will be determined on an individual basis.

• An applicant may be considered for admission with advanced standing if:

  • The applicant withdrew at the end of the term in a previous class with a passing grade in all courses. (Must have been within the previous year. If over 1 year, the applicant must start at the beginning of the program.)

  • The applicant is a direct transfer from another school.

To apply for advanced standing, the applicant must:

• Meet with faculty to determine admission.
• Applicants shall be admitted with advanced standing only if there is an opening in the program and a plan can be worked out for assuring that all the program objectives can be met.

• Students may request transfer of college credits for Anatomy & Physiology, Medical Terminology, Basic Physics, Biology, College Algebra, and Computer Literacy. In order to accept credit for these courses, the following guidelines must be met:
  1. The course must have been completed at an accredited college.
  2. The course must have been completed within the last 5 years. (If over 5 years ago, the student may be able to test our at the discretion of the instructor.)
  3. The course must have been completed with a grade of "C" or above.

Health Standards

• All students are required to complete an individual student health questionnaire. For the CDMS Program, students are required to secure a physical examination prior to program acceptance. Students should be in a sufficient state of health to successfully pursue the Cardiac Diagnostic Medical Sonography program.

Technical / Clinical Standards

• Cardiac Diagnostic Medical Sonographers function in a broad spectrum of clinical situations. In order to ensure patient safety and provide accurate diagnostic information, sonographers must be able to adapt and perform in a variety of settings. Certain skills and abilities are needed to function as a professional sonographer. The following are non-academic criteria, which all students in the Cardiac Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program are expected to meet in order to participate in the clinical courses and professional practice.

Physical Activity:

• Long periods of standing and frequent walking.
• Repetitive motion activities (scanning, entering computer date)
• Grasping (positioning patients for exams)
• Pulling and pushing on equipment and stretchers.
• Lifting more than 50 pounds routinely.
• Speaking in a clear comprehensible manner.
• Performing fine gross motor skills with both hands.
• Receive detailed information through oral communication and make fine discriminations in sound.
• Work with printed and/or written documentation.
• Assess patient conditions, i.e., color, respirations, motion, etc.
• Visually discriminate shades of gray and various shades of color.
• Visual assessment of images on computer terminals and video recordings.

Communication:

• Communicate effectively with patients and others.
• Assess non-verbal communications.
• Effectively and efficiently transmit information to patients, fellow students, faculty, and all members of the health care team while keeping within the guidelines of confidentiality.

Intellectual and Quantitative Abilities:

• Measure, calculate, reason, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize.
• Comprehend three dimensional relationships.