Cardiac Sonography Training in Connecticut - CT

To begin your cardiac sonographer training in Connecticut, you should start by researching schools in your state that offer an associate’s degree in this area. Bachelor’s are also offered, but an associate’s degree is currently the norm for most.

When looking at schools in Connecticut, go with one accredited by CAAHEP (the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education). This ensures you’ll be able to get to join a credentialing organization later, if you desire, and makes sure your school is held to strict educational requirements.

Whatever school in Connecticut you end up at, you’ll find your curriculum kicks off with intensive study of the heart, and the vascular system. Cardiac sonographers have to know this part of the body inside and out, as well as how it relates to overall health, so this will be the main focus of your education.

Cardiac sonographers will also get equally comfortable with handling their ultrasound equipment and the various other tools of their trade, as it is the combination of their technical skill and specialized medical knowledge that helps them to be so effective in creating images for diagnosis.

For the last half of the second year in school, cardiac sonography students in Connecticut will begin performing echocardiograms of various types alongside professional sonographers and medical educators. Here, they’ll learn all about interacting with patients and medical ethics, all while getting comfortable performing the duties of their job.

Once you’ve graduated, or are very near graduation, you should consider testing for credentials from one of the major certifying agencies in your profession, like the American Registry for Diagnosis Medical Sonographers. These tests are difficult and comprehensive, take the better part of a day, and require intense preparation. In the ARDMS’s case, passing it certifies you as a RDCS, and allows you access to the newest research and development in your field. While credentials aren’t necessary to work in Connecticut, many employers require applicants to have credentials, and credentialed cardiac sonographers usually make more money.