Diagnostic medical sonography uses high frequency sound waves (ultrasound) to produce visual images of organs, tissues, or blood flow inside the body. Sonographers provide direct patient care by performing diagnostic tests, and may work in hospitals, private doctor’s offices, specialty clinics, or laboratories. Graduates of our DMS program will sit for the ARDMS Sonographic Principles and Instrumentation exam. Learn more about the career at www.sdms.org. GTC’s sonography program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (www.CAAHEP.org) upon the recommendation of the Joint Review Committee on Education in Diagnostic Medical Sonography (JRC-DMS).

Length of Program

Semester Program Begins

5 semesters (not including prerequisite courses); Program courses must be taken in sequence within the prescribed time frame

Fall Semester; Full time; Day classes only

1. Apply to Gwinnett Technical College at www.gwinnetttech.edu submit all transcripts from high school and previous college work, and take the Accuplacer test if required (You must be accepted into Gwinnett Tech prior to applying to a program of study.)
2. Applicants are initially accepted into the Interdisciplinary Studies degree program while completing the required prerequisite courses

1. All applicants are required to submit a program application packet after completing all requirements (prerequisites and ATI TEAS exam). Program packet forms are available online at http://www.gwinnetttech.edu/enrollment/forms- documents/.
2. For Fall semester admission, the program application, TEAS for Allied Health Exam (minimum score accepted is 80%) and all prerequisites must be completed by June 8^th with a 3.2 GPA.
3. One Monthly Information session attendance is required to apply to the program.
4. Top applicants will be required to attend a mandatory meeting in person at the Lawrenceville Campus during the 3rd week of June. The exact date will be stated in the program application packet.

Prerequisite Courses

 (3.2 GPA minimum)

• ENGL 1101   - Composition and Rhetoric
• MATH 1111   - College Algebra
• PSYC 1101   - Introductory Psychology
• PHYS 1110  **- Conceptual Physics and PHYS 1110L  ** - Conceptual Physics Lab
• BIOL 2113  * - Anatomy and Physiology I and BIOL BIOL 2113L  * - Anatomy and Physiology Lab I
• BIOL 2114  * - Anatomy and Physiology II and BIOL 2114L  * - Anatomy and Physiology Lab II
• FYES 1000  - First Year Experience - not included in GPA calculation 

*Courses may not be more than 5 years old at time of program application

**Courses may not be more than 10 years old at time of program application

• HUMN 1101   - Introduction to Humanities
• ARTS 1101   - Art Appreciation
• MUSC 1101   - Music Appreciation
• RELG 1101    - World Religions

Additional Required Course: Preferred to be taken before program start date, but can be taken during program

Program Deadlines

1. Candidates are scored and ranked based on: prerequisite courses GPA on all attempts and TEAS exam.
2. One Monthly Information session attendance is required to apply to the program.

Uniform scrubs, shoes, books; liability insurance; criminal background check and drug screening; immunizations (e.g. COVID19 vaccine) for hospital clinical; exam fees for certification. More costs may be added as the program is developed.

Information Sessions
 

Everyone is welcome to attend our information session held on the 2nd Tuesday of each month*

at 4:00 p.m. in building C, Room 105, Lawrenceville Campus.

*There will not be an information session in July and December*

Nature of the Work

Sonographers use special equipment to direct high frequency sound waves into areas of the patient’s body. Sonographers operate the equipment, which collects reflected echoes and forms an image that may be videotaped, transmitted, or photographed for interpretation and diagnosis by a physician. Viewing the screen during the scan, sonographers look for subtle visual cues that contrast healthy areas with unhealthy ones. They decide whether the images are satisfactory for diagnostic purposes and select which ones to store and show to the physician. In addition to working directly with patients, diagnostic medical sonographers keep patient records and adjust and maintain equipment. They also may prepare work schedules, evaluate equipment purchases, or manage a sonography or diagnostic imaging department.

Diagnostic medical sonographers held about 83,800 jobs nationally in 2022. About 60 percent of all sonographer jobs were in public and private hospitals. The remaining jobs were typically in offices of physicians, medical and diagnostic laboratories, and outpatient care centers. Employment of diagnostic medical sonographers is expected to increase by about 10 percent from 2022 to 2032. The demand for certified sonographers is due to the increased variety of sonographic exams and the number of sonographers that will retire.
 

sdms.org/                                                ardms.org                                          aium.org