Professional Development and Leadership



Professional Development and Leadership



Objectives


Students who successfully complete this chapter will be able to do the following:


• Describe the functional skills expected of a diagnostic medical sonographer.


• Discuss the need for continuing education and describe the role played by the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography.


• Describe the operational, interpretive, and administrative duties, as well as the ongoing activities of a staff sonographer.


• List and describe non-hospital careers.



Key terms



The goal of this chapter is to provide an overview of the expectations of a sonographer and to instill the confidence needed to take the step from student to professional. As you near the completion of education and training as a sonographer, it is time to turn your attention toward becoming the best sonographer possible and making a meaningful contribution to the profession. The didactic and clinical practice sessions will soon give way to front-line work with patients in the “real world.” Rather than studying theory and scanning techniques, you must shift focus to securing a good job and to considering the relationship between sonography and society. As a health care professional, you must be concerned with the legal, ethical, legislative, and political issues that affect you and your practice. You also must find resources to deal successfully with the challenges of practicing sonography in one or more work settings.



Birth of an occupation


Although a thriving field of study today, diagnostic sonography initially struggled to create enough accredited educational facilities to meet the workplace demand. This was due partially to the fact that in its first few decades, much sonographer training occurred mainly through short courses and on-the-job training. In addition, it was sonographers, neurologists, obstetricians, and cardiologists—as much or more than imaging specialists—who nurtured and promoted the technique until it began to achieve clinical recognition. For this reason, diagnostic ultrasound was first an adjunct to different existing specialties rather than an independent medical specialty.


The early years of ultrasound were devoted more to research than to the delivery of health care, as physicians and their “technicians” worked in concert to explore the clinical possibilities and dream of what the future might hold. Finally, the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM), one of the first organizations devoted exclusively to diagnostic ultrasound, began to address the issue of training. While promoting and training of physicians, the AIUM “encouraged” the formation of a technical branch called the American Society of Ultrasound Technical Specialists (ASUTS). Both organizations have had a tremendous effect on the field of diagnostic ultrasound in the United States and internationally.


The ASUTS developed the first guidelines and requirements for the training of sonographers. Realizing it was imperative to create a new and separate occupation, the ASUTS, with the help of AIUM President Gilbert Baum, applied to the Manpower Division of the American Medical Association (AMA) to create a new occupation. In 1973 the field now known as diagnostic medical sonography was created.


The ensuing years were devoted to working with many multidisciplinary groups to develop the Document of Essentials for Education and to help form the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (ARDMS) as a vehicle for evaluating sonographer competency. Efforts also led to the formation of the Joint Review Committee for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (JRCDMS), which is responsible for accrediting sonography educational programs. During this period, the ASUTS replaced the term ultrasound specialist with diagnostic medical sonographer and became the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (SDMS). This name was also eventually changed to its current name, the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography. One of the society’s continuing missions is to elevate sonography from an occupation to the level of a profession.



Profession versus occupation


Dictionaries define a profession as an occupation requiring advanced education and training and involving intellectual skills. Most professionals are serious about striving for excellence in their work and demonstrating their sense of responsibility and ethical concerns. Their work is more than an occupation, more than a means of support or a stepping stone to other career opportunities. The many sonographers who fit these criteria benefit from being recognized as professionals rather than as technicians or nonprofessionals, because these latter terms inadequately convey their position, status, and motivation.


For the field of diagnostic sonography to achieve status as a profession will require advanced education and autonomy in all areas of sonographic practice. Some of the best arguments for recognizing sonographers as professionals are that they:



Graduate sonographers must decide whether they want to be part of an occupation in which the basic requirement is to show up and do a job reasonably well in exchange for a paycheck or instead want to challenge themselves with the continuing education, personal standards, and goals that separate professionals from “9-to-5” employees.



Roles versus Functions


The debate over using the terms profession and professional is restrictive if confined to the legal and sociologic definitions. Only those within the field, or closely involved in it, can appreciate the impact of a sonographer’s role. A role is a specific behavior that an individual demonstrates to others. Functions, on the other hand, involve the tasks or duties one is obligated to perform in carrying out a role.


In the literal sense, the term sonographer means one who graphs or draws with sound. In addition to the obvious duties of performing ultrasound studies and gathering diagnostic data, the sonographer’s role comprises more than tasks delegated by physicians. Sonography is a unique profession with its own theoretic basis. Sonographers provide patient care by using the most advanced equipment available. They also provide emotional care by striving to provide a nurturing approach to patients. Successful sonographers possess strong scientific knowledge and skills, work diligently to keep abreast of the field, and, in this era of patient-centered care, promote concern for one’s patients.



Becoming an outstanding sonographer


Graduate sonographers should enter the profession aware of some of the intrinsically important facets of being a good sonographer: those that are more attitudinal than tangible and are acquired only through patience and experience.



Role Models


Think for a minute of the instructors and the clinical sonographers who have assisted you in your goal of becoming a sonographer. Beyond the memory of their technical abilities, what desirable personal qualities come to mind? As student sonographers learn what is expected of them after graduation, they should be able to match these early role models with the qualities and abilities they hope to acquire and perfect, such as integrity, accountability, and an obvious concern for maintaining high professional standards. Like their early role models, graduate sonographers, too, are expected to uphold and promote quality education, protect and enhance the professional status of sonographers, and demonstrate leadership by advancing a wider recognition of sonographers within the medical profession and among the public.



Sonographer qualities


What specific aptitudes, abilities, and skills are indicative of a good sonographer? Aptitudes are undeveloped and untrained talents. The possession of an aptitude produces a natural tendency to do well. Abilities can be defined as being able to do something physical or mental. Thinking three-dimensionally when looking at a two-dimensional image is an example of ability. Skills are a proficiency or expertness that comes from training and practice. The following traits are some of the most desirable aptitudes a sonographer can have and together they form a blueprint for success.








Good Physical and Mental Health


Physical stamina is required for the daily long periods of standing, moving about, lifting and positioning patients, and performing other physically demanding tasks. To be able to function at this level, you are expected to keep yourself in good health. The additional responsibility of handling stress and being skilled at helping others cope with it requires maintaining physical and mental fitness. For that reason, although it may be admirable to skip lunch to handle an overloaded patient schedule, don’t make it a habit. A long-term solution to the problem is best achieved by working with scheduling personnel to explain the amount of time needed to perform routine examinations. Once that is established, marking off emergency slots for difficult studies will allow you to meet your patient obligations and preserve your physical and mental well-being.





Related posts:

Legal and Ethical Aspects of Sonography Communication and Critical Thinking Skills The Sonographer as Student Sonographer Safety Issues The Origins and Evolution of Diagnostic Medical Sonography Medical Techniques and Patient Care

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Aug 20, 2016 | Posted by in ULTRASONOGRAPHY | Comments Off on Professional Development and Leadership

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