I work full-time and my job says they will “work with me”
and let me have a flexible schedule so that I can complete
the program and still work. Based on the time
commitment required for the program, do you think that this
would be possible?
The Diagnostic Medical Sonography program is a
blended
online program. Though all of your course work is delivered
online, you are still required to attend face-to-face labs
and clinicals off-campus at area hospitals/doctors offices.
The course schedule while in the Diagnostic Medical
Sonography Program is not designed to work around
your home life or work schedule. Once accepted into the
program, you should be prepared to work around your
face-to-face labs, clinical days, open scan labs, meetings,
homework load, etc. Each didactic course will have a
required seven face-to-face labs that meet during the
semester, however, much more work is involved than just
attending on those seven lab days. Clinical hours are
a substantial requirement and commitment. The first
clinical starts at one day a week, but by the end of the
program, you will be at a clinical site four days a week (in
addition to other course work). A total of 1,560 clinical
hours must be documented in the two years of the program.
During the first year, you may find it possible to continue
working at a reduced load, or during the evening or the
weekends, but you will not be able to hold a Monday through
Friday job. Each semester you progress through the program,
the work load and off-campus clinical education commitment
increases, requiring you to be on and off campus more and
more and requiring more advanced assignments and studying.
At some point during the program (around the beginning of
the 2nd year) you will find it extremely
difficult, if not impossible, to continue working. Only you
know what your individual situation is, but it is very
important to budget time and money in advance in order to be
able to complete the program. The number one reason people
are not able to finish the program is that they did not
budget enough money to keep paying bills when their
availability to work runs out. Everyone is unique and comes
with his or her own backgrounds and desires to complete this
program, but regardless of all of that, if you do not give
yourself enough time to learn, study and comprehend what you
need to, you will not end up successfully completing this
program. Although time-off is relatively scarce, there are
approximately two five-week breaks during the program to
enjoy.
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I
see that in addition to my course work and face-to-face
labs, I will be expected to attend clinicals off campus at
hospitals and/or doctor’s offices 1-4 days a week
while enrolled in the program. What can I expect while
attending clinicals?
Clinicals are an important part of your Diagnostic Medical
Sonography education and should be taken very seriously.
You will be assigned to a clinical site and will coordinate
with your clinical supervisor the days and times they will
allow you to attend clinicals. As you will be
representing Montgomery College , it is important to look
and behave in a professional manner and to the highest of
standards. You will be required to wear a Montgomery
College Diagnostic Medical Sonography uniform, ID badge,
and maintain a presentable appearance. While you are
at clinicals you will have the opportunity to work closely
with healthcare teams that are caring for real patients, and
you will be expected to be prepared and knowledgeable
about your ultrasound studies so that you can become part of
the team that is caring for these patients. You must
remember at all times that your participation at a clinical
site is a privilege that should not be taken for granted.
During your clinical days, you will be able to practice
scanning patients and will be completing various
competencies for the course. The goal is to become
very comfortable interacting with patients, using the
ultrasound machine, and improving your speed and ability to
take diagnostic ultrasound images, while following a set
protocol for each study.
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In
addition to required face-to-face labs that are held in
conjunction with each course, the Diagnostic Medical
Sonography Program also offers Open Scan Lab time for all
students. How often will I be able to come on campus
and use the scan lab?
The Diagnostic Medical Sonography scanning lab is located in
the Health Science Building on the Takoma Park/Silver Spring
campus of Montgomery College and is open for student use
under the supervision of a program faculty member. The
scan lab is used for required face-to-face lab sessions and
additionally for open scan labs. Diagnostic Medical
Sonography Faculty hold open scan labs at certain hours each
week, and it is your responsibility to e-mail the faculty
and ask for an open time slot to scan. At the
beginning of the semester, the open scan lab schedule is
posted, and may be available up to 6 days a week.
Availability to attend open scan labs is based on a
first-come, first-served basis and you have to bring a
volunteer to scan. Most students bring their
classmates to scan, so that each will get some scanning
time, but you can bring whoever you like. If you scan
someone who is not in the program, they will need to fill
out a Scan Waiver Form. While in lab it is important
to remember you are using very expensive equipment and you
could lose the privilege of using the equipment if you don’t
adhere to the lab rules.
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Aside
from the prerequisites that are needed to apply, and all the
required courses and clinicals that I can expect to complete
while I am in the program, are there any additional
requirements expected of me?
At the start of the program you will be expected to complete
a criminal background check, become certified in CPR, adhere
to drug testing, demonstrate proof of vaccinations, and get
a physical examination. These requirements (along with
any additional requirements that are specific to the site
you are assigned to) are necessary because you will be at
clinical sites. The clinical sites require that
students are in good health and do not pose a risk to their
patients or health professionals. Students have to
abide by the policies and procedures of their assigned
clinical sites as if they were an employee there. The
background check is a simple form that is completed online.
CPR certification is available throughout the year at many
health organizations, such as the Red Cross or American
Heart Association. Proof of vaccinations and a
physical examination should be arranged through your primary
doctor. Drug testing may be required by your assigned
clinical site. Some sites require their employees to
submit to drug testing and may extend that to students.
Regardless, drug use is against Montgomery College policy.
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I
see that the Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program is
affiliated with many clinical sites, and some are nearby
where I live. Do I get to choose where I attend my
clinical sites?
The
clinical faculty assigns all students to their clinical
educational site based on site criteria and each individual
student’s level of “skill and need.” The clinical
faculty assesses each students “skills and needs” based on
objective evaluation tools that are completed by college
clinical faculty and clinical affiliate instructors.
You are not assigned to a clinical educational site based
on where you live or which site is most convenient to you,
but rather based on your learning needs. If possible,
clinical faculty will take into account your individual
requests due to special circumstances, but that is not the
priority and you should not expect to be assigned to a
clinical site based on your preferences. While in the
program you will be expected to rotate through multiple
clinical facilities, you will not be allowed to stay at just
one site. All the clinical sites affiliated with the
Diagnostic Medical Sonography program are potential sites
for you to be assigned to. Keep in mind that the faculty
are trying to provide you the best education and learning
experience possible throughout your clinical education.
If you are assigned to a site that is inconvenient for you,
remember there is a good reason why you were assigned there
and make the best of it.
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I
have a completed degree in a patient care related health
field. I am a registered/licensed Health Professional
in a related health field, is this program still two years
long for someone like me?
Montgomery
College offers one program in the Diagnostic Medical
Sonography with two possible options for terminal degrees:
an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Diagnostic Medical
Sonography and a Certificate in Diagnostic Medical
Sonography. Only registered/licensed Health Professionals
from a patient care related field who have completed a
degree qualify for the Certificate. Regardless of which
option you qualify for, the Diagnostic Medical Sonography
program is a two-year program, which cannot be completed any
earlier, no matter what your prior education or
qualifications are. Course prerequisite and
co-requisite requirements make it impossible to take courses
out of sequence. The one benefit of already having a
license in a health profession is that you will likely have
already taken the General Course Requirements for Diagnostic
Medical Sonography, such as Medical Terminology, or Concepts
of Disease. The only non-Diagnostic Medical Sonography
course you are required to take for the Certification is a
college level English course (which most people with a prior
degree will already have). Please see the Diagnostic Medical Sonography Programs link for a
complete list of all the courses required for each program
option.
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What happens if I have to leave the program for a semester
or two? Can I just jump right back in when I am ready
to come back and complete my degree?
If your academic studies are interrupted for more than one
semester while in the program, you must reapply to the
College for readmission to the program. Because
Diagnostic Medical Sonography is a competency-based program,
you have to complete the courses in sequence and
within a two-year period. You can petition the College
to allow you to return to the program without reapplying,
and if you are granted an exception, a contract will be
written that will outline specifics for your academic plan
of action. You can only petition for readmission to
the program once. This also applies to military
personnel that have been deployed, you would need to reapply
within the two-year timeframe, or otherwise have to repeat
the program from the start. Since the program is
highly structured and each class is only offered once a
year, a student who is granted re-admission will need to
wait one year until the class is offered again.
Students who have been dismissed from the College for
disciplinary reasons are not eligible to reapply for
admission to the Diagnostic Medical Sonography program.
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Can
I complete two sonography specialty tracks at the same time
during my two years in the program?
Due to the heavy coursework involved with each specialty
track, you will be required to choose only one track that
you would like to specialize in during your two years in the
program. However, once you have successfully completed
a specialty track and have graduated, you are welcome to
come back for another track (many students do!).
Completing an additional specialty track will require only
one additional year of clinicals and study. The
clinical portion can often be done at your place of
ultrasound employment, whereas the coursework will be done
in the blended online format. Typically, it is easier
for General sonography students to come back for a Vascular
or Echo specialty, than the other way around. From an
employment perspective, it is very advantageous to have
multiple specialties. The more you know, the more
marketable you will be.
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What
happens if I get pregnant during the program?
Although
medical information is confidential, it is the student’s
responsibility and decision to notify the school of
pregnancy if she so chooses. If the student chooses
not to share that information, she is acknowledging that she
is taking any responsibility for her condition and any
complications that could arise. There are two options
if you become pregnant during the program: to take a Leave
of Absence during pregnancy, or to stay in the program
throughout pregnancy. If you choose to take a Leave of
Absence you would re-enter the program one year later, at
the beginning of the corresponding semester in which you
left. If you choose to continue with the program
throughout pregnancy, you would complete all clinical
rotations as assigned with no special provisions. You
will be asked to apply radiation safety practices, and a
radiation exposure monitoring device can be issued to
you upon request.
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What
kind of grades does the Diagnostic Medical Sonography
program require? Do I have to get all A’s and B’s?
Since sonography is a profession where less-than-adequate
performance may cause real harm to patients, there are
higher standards for our students than other Montgomery
College courses. These standards are in place to
ensure the effectiveness and competency of our graduates.
The academic policy for the Diagnostic Medical Sonography
program states that students must have a minimum grade of
“C” in all Diagnostic Medical Sonography didactic courses
and a minimum grade of “B” in clinical courses.
An “A” is considered 93-100%, a “B” is considered 86-92%,
and a “C” is considered “75-85%. This may be quite
different than the grading system you are accustomed to.
An overall GPA of 2.5 is necessary to advance to the next
semester.
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What
if something goes wrong while at a clinical site? Will
I be responsible for damages or get sued?
Montgomery College provides liability insurance for all
Diagnostic Medical Sonography students while at an approved
clinical site during assigned clinical training hours.
However, each student will be held responsible for his or
her actions while in contact with patients and at the
assigned clinical site. The Diagnostic Medical
Sonography program strongly recommends that each student has
personal liability insurance. Any incident that is
beyond a “routine” level of seriousness should be reported
immediately to the Clinical Instructor as well as Clinical
and Program Coordinators. Incident reports will also
need to be filled.
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I
am allergic to latex and I know many health care facilities
use latex exam gloves. Is this going to be a problem
for me in the program, or at clinical sites?
More
and more health care facilities are moving away from using
latex exam gloves. Students with latex allergies are
required to notify their Clinical Faculty/Clinical
Instructor about their allergies. The student is
responsible for avoiding latex products and for using
alternative products which are available at the lab.
Be sure to also notify your clinical site of your allergy so
that they may provide you with latex-free gloves while
scanning.
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I
work at a hospital listed on the Diagnostic Medical
Sonography Clinical Affiliate chart. Can I do my
clinicals at my job?
Any student employed in any capacity by a Diagnostic Medical
Sonography clinical site must immediately notify program
coordinators of this status to prevent “role conflict.”
Under no circumstances can a student receive monetary
compensation for the delivery of care during assigned
clinical hours. You may be assigned to your place of
employment to complete your clinical rotation, however, you
may not be “at work” and “at clinicals” simultaneously. For
example, you may have your clinical on Mondays and work at
your current job for pay Tuesday-Friday. As
mentioned earlier, clinical assignments are made based on
the student’s learning needs and not because the student
conveniently works there.
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