SONOGRAPHY SCHOOL

Associate Degree of Applied Science | Available at our Lexington Campus

SONOGRAPHY PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The Diagnostic Medical Sonography program is a 24-month program that provides students with the option to pursue an Associate Degree in Cardiac Sonography or Vascular Sonography. Upon completion of the program and meeting all course requirements, students will receive a Diagnostic Medical Sonography Associate Degree with a concentration in Vascular or Echocardiography.

Upon successful completion of the national examination, students will obtain the credential Registered Vascular Specialist or Registered Cardiac Sonographer.

SONOGRAPHY PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

• Graduates earn an Associate Degree of Applied Science in 24 months
• Career services and job placement assistance
• Hands-on training from experienced instructors in a working clinical lab
• Institutionally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP)
• Financial aid is available for those who qualify
• Blended learning, which consists of completing courses in both online and on-campus settings

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

MedQuest College’s Diagnostic Medical Sonography program curriculum covers the following topics for each concentration:

Echocardiography

• How to perform, analyze, and interpret echocardiogram tests.
• Method for producing real-time images of cardiac structures to assist physicians in diagnosing cardiovascular disease.
• Evaluating blood flow, valve function, and chamber size to determine the overall condition of the heart.
• Identifying cardiac abnormalities, chronic heart conditions, narrowed or leaking heart valves, and associated complications.

Vascular

• Anatomy and physiology of the Carotid, Transcranial Doppler, and upper extremity arterial systems.
• Scanning procedures and ultrasound techniques for upper and lower extremity venous and arterial studies as well as carotid duplex examinations.
• Basic and advanced principles associated with Arterial and Venous vascular ultrasound.
• Doppler Segmental Pressures, plethysmography, arterial hemodynamics and venous hemodynamics.

Program Effectiveness Data

SONOGRAPHY PROGRAM DEGREE AND CERTIFICATIONS 

The program includes a balance of classroom, clinical, and laboratory experiences. Upon completion of the program and meeting all of the course requirements, students will receive a: 

• Associate Degree of Applied Science in either Diagnostic Medical Sonography – Echocardiography or Diagnostic Medical Sonography-Vascular 
• Eligible to take the primary pathway certification and registry through The Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI). 
• Upon successful completion of the national examination, students will obtain the credential Registered Cardiac Sonographer (RCS) or Registered Vascular Specialist (RVS).

EXTERNSHIP AND CAREER SERVICES AT MEDQUEST COLLEGE 

Externship

Prior to graduation, students are required to complete an externship under the guidance of area experts. During this externship, students will refine the skills learned on campus as well as work directly with patients for real-life experience.

Career Services

Our Career Services Director provides assistance to graduating students and alumni that include instruction in resume writing, preparation of cover letters, interviewing techniques and networking skills. The college provides job placement assistance for its graduates. Alumni in good standing may continue to use any and all placement resources indefinitely at no charge.

WHAT IS A DIAGNOSTIC MEDICAL SONOGRAPHY?

Diagnostic Medical Sonography, often called Ultrasound, uses high-frequency waves to generate images of different organs and blood vessels inside the body.  As an imaging process, ultrasound has a very specific use by providing information that x-ray or other radiologic methods cannot.

WHAT DOES A DIAGNOSTIC MEDICAL SONOGRAPHER DO?

The Cardiovascular Sonography program offered at MedQuest College provides our students with the option to pursue an Associate Degree in Cardiac Sonography or Vascular Sonography. Cardiac Sonography is ultrasound used to produce images of the anatomy of a patient’s heart chambers, walls, valves and blood vessels.  Vascular Sonography is ultrasound used to produce images of the patient’s veins and arteries. Images provided by the sonographer are used by the physician to diagnose and treat various conditions.

Responsibilities that our graduates are able to perform when they begin their new career as a Cardiac Sonographer:

• Produce real-time images of cardiac structures to assist the physician in diagnosing cardiovascular disease
• Evaluating cardiac abnormalities and associated complications
• Tracking and evaluating chronic heart conditions
• Evaluating narrowed or leaking heart valves
• Looking for causes of murmurs, chest pain or shortness or breath

Responsibilities that our graduates are able to perform when they begin their new career as a Vascular Sonographer:

• Monitoring blood flow
• Identifying blockages
• Locating blood clots, tumors aneurysms and other blood vessel abnormalities
• Determining if angioplasty is a viable treatment option
• Assessing outcome of a bypass or graft of blood vessels

WHERE DO DIAGNOSTIC MEDICAL SONOGRAPHERS WORK?

Cardiovascular Sonographers, also known as Ultrasound Technologists, perform ultrasound in a variety of settings, working with patients of all ages, who range from healthy to critically ill, both in and out of the hospital.  We prepare our students to work with all types of patients in facilities ranging from large hospitals to small outpatient clinics.

• Hospitals
• Physician Offices
• Diagnostic Laboratories
• Outpatient Clinics
• Mobile Ultrasound Companies

MedQuest Ultrasound students share their experience in the Diagnostic Medical Sonography program.

WHY MEDQUEST COLLEGE

MedQuest College has provided high-quality instruction to students in Kentucky and Indiana since 1999. By providing Southern Indiana, Louisville and Lexington Kentucky, and surrounding areas with quality programs we are able to proudly say that MedQuest College has successfully employed thousands of graduates in the medical fields. Our campuses are located in Louisville KY and Lexington KY.  We are institutionally accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES), a nationally recognized accrediting body.