Diagnostic Medical Sonography: Accepted Student Information

All accepted students are required to have a certificate for AIDS 500 prior to entrance into the clinical portion of the program. This certificate can be obtained from the Health Sciences Institute by contacting 321-433-7745. 

All accepted students are required to have a current American Heart Association course "BLS for Health Care Providers" CPR certification prior to entrance into the clinical portion of the program, which must be maintained throughout the entire program.

A criminal History Information Request through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement must be processed on each accepted student. Students will be given information about having the background check performed once accepted. For more information about the requirements, see the Florida State Statutes on the Florida Legislature web page as well as on the State of Florida Employment Screenings web page.

Eastern Florida State College Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program requires the same immunizations that the State of Florida requires for high school students:

DTaP
IPV
MMR
Hepatitis B series
Varicella
Flu shot

Please visit the Florida health website for specific immunization information.

• Documentation of all clinical hours
• Documentation of all Skills Laboratory hours
• Documentation of all programmatic clinical competencies
• Documentation of all programmatic Skills Laboratory competencies

Our maximum student enrollment is in proportion with the volume and variety of sonographic procedures, equipment, and personnel available for educational purposes. The number of students assigned to a clinical affiliate/clinical education center will be determined by the following:

• Student/clinical staff ratio not greater than one-to-one
• Student/work station ratio not greater than one-to-one

Eastern Florida State College will provide students with a variety of care settings in which sonographic and or other diagnostic procedures are performed on in-patients and outpatients. These settings will include the following:

• Ambulatory care facilities
• Emergency/trauma
• Intensive/critical/coronary care
• Surgery
• Angiography/cardiac catheterization

Each General Learning concentration affiliate or clinical education center shall perform approximately 1500 completed patient examinations, including production of permanent records and reports, per year, per student equivalent.

The overall volume of procedures in which students participate in throughout the program will include a minimum of 30% OB/Gyn procedures and a minimum of 30% abdominal procedures.

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that careful consideration be given to all applicants seeking education or employment. The Act also requires that accommodations be provided to the disabled person when proven to be reasonable. It also supports the identification of essential job functions that may be used with other selection criteria in the screening of potential applicants for a professional curriculum or employment. Review the information below and accepted students who want to explore accommodations can do so through EFSC's SAIL accessibility services office.

The Diagnostic Medical Sonographer is a caregiver who plays a fundamental role in the diagnosis of a patient’s medical condition. The sonographer does this by providing a collection of diagnostic medical sonograms and assisting in interventional procedures.

Implied in this caregiving role are essential job functions that require the sonographer to demonstrate cognitive, psychomor, and affective skills. The performance of these job functions must be consistent with the expectation that Diagnostic Medical Sonographer must not place his or herself, a fellow worker, or the patient in jeopardy of physical or mental harm.

The purpose of the following is to identify the physical, mental, and emotional requirements appropriate to the profession of Diagnostic Medical Sonography.

Examples of a sonographer’s essential job functions

A. Physical Requirements
The Diagnostic Medical Sonographer must be able to:

1. Work standing on his/her feet 80% of the time
2. Use both hands, wrists, and shoulders to maintain prolonged arm positions necessary for scanning and perform fine motor skills.
3. Lift more than 50 pounds routinely.
4. Transport, move, and or lift patients from a wheelchair or stretcher to the examination table or patient bed, and physically assist patients into proper positions for examination.
5. Push, pull, bend and stoop routinely to move and adjust sonographic equipment and perform studies.
6. Use senses (vision, hearing, and touch) to adequately view sonograms, including color distinctions; distinguish audible sounds; perform eye/hand coordination skills required in sonographic examinations; and recognize changes in patients' condition and needs.
7. Work in a semidarkened room for prolonged periods of time.
8. Be physically capable of carrying out all assigned duties.

B. Mental and Intellectual Requirements
The Diagnostic Medical Sonographer must be able to:

1. Communicate effectively, verbally and nonverbally, with patients and other healthcare professionals to explain procedures, give instructions, and give and obtain information.
2. Organize and accurately perform the individual steps in a sonographic procedure in the proper sequence according to established standards.
3. Understand and respond quickly to verbal instructions and patient needs.
4. Follow directions effectively and work closely with members of the healthcare community.
5. View and evaluate recorded images for the purpose of identifying proper protocol, procedural sequencing, technical qualities and identification of pathophysiology.
6.  Apply problem solving skills to help optimize patient care and produce the best diagnostic information possible.

C. Emotional Requirements
The Diagnostic Medical Sonographer must be able to:

1. Provide physical and emotional support to the patient during sonographic procedures.
2. Interact compassionately and effectively with the sick and or the injured.
3. Handle stressful situations related to technical and procedural standards and patient care situations.
4. Adapt to changing environments and be able to prioritize tasks.
5. Project an image of professionalism.
6. Demonstrate a high level of compassion for others, a motivation to serve, integrity, and a consciousness of social values.
7. Interact positively with people from all levels of society and all ethnic and religious backgrounds.

Diagnostic Medical Sonography Students shall not be employed as a sonographer with any of the contracted clinical affiliates of the program prior to successful completion of the program.

 Failure to comply with this policy stated here will result in immediate dismissal from the program.

All accepted students are required to purchase and are covered by the Allied Health Liability Insurance and also the Education/Training Student Accident Insurance through EFSC. The cost of this insurance coverage is included in course fees and it is charged once every twelve months.