Meeting the technical standards is a prerequisite for entry and continued enrollment in the UMBC Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program.
Academic and Cognitive Standards
- Prerequisite Knowledge:
- Students must demonstrate knowledge of all prerequisite courses.
- Learning and Comprehension:
- Learn and perform at the college level.
- Develop mastery of academic and clinical instruction as demonstrated through written and other testing.
- Demonstrate ability to read and understand written materials required in clinical practice (exam orders, patient reports, etc.).
- Communication Skills:
- Exhibit adequate English skills, both written and verbal.
- Interact and communicate proficiently with other students, instructors, patients, sonographers, medical personnel, and physicians.
Professionalism and Behavioral Standards
- Professional Conduct:
- Exhibit professional conduct (respect, positivity, integrity, accountability, teachability, cultural competency, emotional intelligence) during class and clinical time.
- Patient Care:
- Demonstrate and effectively use the basic patient care skills required of an Allied Health Professional.
Clinical and Technical Skills
- Clinical Rotations:
- Attend and participate in full-day clinical rotations as assigned.
- Complete the minimum number of clinical hours required (1070).
- Equipment Operation:
- Operate ultrasound equipment competently with program training.
- Perform standard ultrasound views according to protocols taught by the program.
Physical and Health Standards
Accepted students are required to provide a physician’s certification of their ability to meet the physical standards outlined below.
- Fine Motor Skills:
- Master fine muscle control of arm and hand (required to obtain precise, detailed sonographic images).
- Use both upper and lower extremities to operate the equipment, simultaneously typing with one hand and scanning with the other.
- Cardiac students must master fine muscle control of the left arm and hand.
- Abd-Ext, OB/GYN, and Vascular students must master fine muscle control of the right arm and hand.
- Endurance and Stamina:
- Have sufficient physical health to meet the demands of the profession.
- Routinely bend, turn, twist, reach, sit, and/or stand for long periods of time.
- Have the ability to maintain prolonged arm positions necessary for scanning.
- Strength and Lifting:
- Have sufficient strength to lift patients of all sizes and conditions when necessary and move patients in wheelchairs and stretchers.
- Assist in lifting/sliding patients for bed-to-stretcher transfer.
- Assist patients in moving from chair/wheelchair to bed.
- Turn patients in bed/stretcher; assist patients in moving from bed to toilet.
- Have sufficient strength to move heavy equipment on wheels (up to approximately 500 lbs.) over long distances and in tight spaces.
- Sensory Capabilities:
- Have adequate visual acuity (with or without correction).
- Be able to discern color and B/W on the ultrasound machine monitor.
- Be capable of hearing within the normal audible range to perceive all exam (Doppler) information.