What to Expect

Ultrasound uses high-frequency sound to create an inside view of your innards. And it's used for more than expectant mothers, as diagnostic medical sonography (DMS) students find out.

Employment prospects are golden for health-care professionals. With an aging and growing population, diagnostic medical sonographers will be in high demand for years to come, according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook.

The bright outlook has led to intense competition for students wanting to enter diagnostic medical sonography (DMS) programs. Students learn how to use ultrasound machines and their high-frequency sound waves to create a picture of the inside of a patient.

And the procedures are used for more than just pregnancies -- almost everyone needs an ultrasound at some point in their lives.

Some programs accept applicants from high school, but others require completion of a two-year health science program or other prerequisite college classes.

Kelsey Boizard completed her bachelor of science degree and earned herself a place in a DMS program. She says there is far more demand for sonographers than can be filled by the number of students graduating from programs.

Her program is intense, with 35 hours per week in class. Classes are focused on sonography lectures and labs, but also include physics, anatomy, physiology and patient care. Students apply what they've learned in a practical setting when they are sent on four different practicum placements.

Michelle Mrozek is a sonography student at the Mayo School of Health Sciences. Eventually she would like to relocate to a smaller facility and manage a department.

Mrozek started clinical rotations right away when she began the 18-month program at the Mayo Clinic. "It's a great experience and everyone is so nice, and wants you to learn -- even the patients," she says. "I really enjoy being in the department and learning hands-on with everyone."

The program is fast-paced and you can expect to work hard. Two hours of homework per night is average, but you can expect longer hours if there's a test. "You need to know your terminology and you have to be ready and willing to study every night and do lots of homework," says Mrozek.

You will pay your own travel expenses when you work in clinics. Textbooks can be costly.

How to Prepare

Mrozek's program requires students to complete prerequisites in college algebra, English, physics, anatomy, physiology, medical terminology and patient care. She was grateful for her background in radiology and previous clinical experience.

"That prepared me a ton for what I needed to know and how to treat and talk to patients and physicians," says Mrozek. "I hope that anyone that wants to get into sonography has some type of background with talking to patients and physicians. That way it's one less thing that you have to learn."

In high school, focus on biology, physics and chemistry.

"All three sciences play an important role in the career," says Boizard. She recommends volunteering in a patient-care setting to get an idea of what it's like to work in healthcare.