Cardiac Sonographer

Bronson Healthcare•Kalamazoo, MI

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Under general supervision and according to established procedures, conducts echocardiograms producing two dimensional ultrasonic recordings and Doppler flow analyses of heart and related structures for use by physician in diagnosis of heart and peripheral vascular disease. Employees providing direct patient care must demonstrate competencies specific to the population served.

Requirements

College level courses in the field of Echocardiography with extensive technical training/experience in anatomy and disease; Associate degree; or Bachelor's Degree in Echocardiography from an accredited college preferred
Must hold RDCS, RVT or CCI registry from American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (ARDMS) or registry-eligible candidates must achieve registry within one year of placement into this job
BLS required upon hire or within six months of hire
Must have basic PC skills to operate the database and office programs used in the department
Must be able to work and communicate with all managers, employees, physicians, and customers with which Cardiovascular Services Department does business
Must be able to work well within a small work group which includes communication effectively with team members, assertively handling conflict, diplomatically resolving issues, participating in problem-solving
Must treat everyone in a professional manner
Work which produces high levels of mental/visual fatigue, e.g., interactive and repetitive or small detailed work requiring alertness and concentration for sustained periods of time, the operation of and full attention to a personal computer or CRT between 40 and 70 percent of the time.
Involves regularly lifting of bulky or moderately heavy weights (i.e., up to 50 pounds), and occasionally assisting with heavier tasks or expending the equivalent effort in pushing, pulling, or otherwise handling material, equipment, and other objects.

Responsibilities

Perform transesophageal echo, stress echo and transthoracic echocardiograms on patients of all ages in critical and non-critical settings. Assure requested procedure correlates with the patient’s clinical history and symptoms. Ensure the clinical indication is appropriate for the test ordered. Must be able to recognize abnormalities and obtain additional images as needed for diagnosis and treatment.
Performs all tests according to established laboratory protocols and guidelines, documenting any exceptions to the protocols.
Follows approved techniques and policies for IV insertion and management.
Obtain, prepares, and administers ultrasound enhancing agents according to policy/procedures.
Observes and practices sterile technique to prevent cross-contamination
Travel maybe required to different facilities.
Familiarizes patient with test to be performed and preparation for the test; obtains any relevant information from the patient and available clinical records.
Adjusts equipment controls in accordance to diagnostic information requested and moves transducer, by hand, over patient's cardiac windows, observes ultrasound display screen, and listens to Doppler signals to acquire data for measurement of blood flow velocities.
Differentiates artifacts from anatomic/pathologic structures and adjusts equipment; accordingly, recognizes the significance of all structures that are visualized. Measures the appropriate echocardiogram structures as indicated.
Measures cardiac wall thicknesses and chamber sizes and keys commands into computer to measure thicknesses and chamber sizes of heart, and compares measurement to standard norms to identify abnormalities in accordance to laboratory protocols.
Measures blood flow velocities and calculates data such as cardiac physiology and valve areas for evaluation of cardiac function for physician interpretation per protocol.
Documents and successfully transmits pertinent diagnostic and patient data into digital archive system, according to policy and procedure of Cardiovascular services department. Ensure that all documentation is timely, accurate and complete. Upon assessment of the examination findings, recognize the need for an urgent notification of critical findings to the appropriate healthcare provider.
Maintain a safe work environment. Implements department/hospital policies for environmental safety, equipment maintenance standards and equipment operation standards.
Maintains professional credentials that are specific to current practicing discipline. Completes required echo specific CME’s that are needed to maintain professional credentials and adhere to accrediting body standards IAC.
Participates in ongoing departmental QA process. Assists in the collection and correlation of data to ensure overall accuracy for accreditation. Keeps current in professional knowledge of vascular disease.
Performs minor preventive maintenance on equipment and cleans and stocks labs.
BMH Only- BMH based employees who are cross training between adult and pediatric sonography must achieve competency in pediatric echocardiography within 6 months from start of pediatric training. On the job pediatric training provided. Competency is determined by the CVS Technical Director.