Occupation Profile

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Diagnostic Medical Sonographers

(SOC Code : 29-2032)

in California

Produce ultrasonic recordings of internal organs for use by physicians.

Employers are usually looking for candidates with a Associate degree .

Occupational Wages

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Area	Year	Period	Hourly Mean	Hourly by Percentile
				25th	Median	75th
California	2012	1st Qtr	$39.81	$32.60	$40.17	$47.79

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Occupational Projections of Employment (also called "Outlook" or "Demand")

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Area	Estimated Year-Projected Year	Employment		Employment Change		Annual Avg Openings
		Estimated	Projected	Number	Percent
California	2010 - 2020	5,300	7,300	2,000	37.7	280

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Job Openings from JobCentral National Labor Exchange

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Enter a Zip Code Find a Zip code in California

Within miles of Zip Code.

Industries Employing This Occupation (click on Industry Title to View Employers List)

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Industry Title

Number of Employers in State of California

Percent of Total
Employment for Occupation in State of California

General Medical and Surgical Hospitals

1,393

58.2%

Offices of Physicians

62,928

27.5%

Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories

3,335

8.6%

Employment Services

6,297

1.8%

Outpatient Care Centers

6,487

1.3%

About Staffing Patterns

Training Programs (click on title for more information)

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Program Title

Diagnostic Medical Sonography/Sonographer & Ultrasound Techn

About Training & Apprenticeships

About This Occupation (from O*NET - The Occupation Information Network)

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Top Tasks (Specific duties and responsibilities of this job.)

Provide sonogram and oral or written summary of technical findings to physician for use in medical diagnosis.

Decide which images to include, looking for differences between healthy and pathological areas.

Operate ultrasound equipment to produce and record images of the motion, shape, and composition of blood, organs, tissues, or bodily masses, such as fluid accumulations.

Observe screen during scan to ensure that image produced is satisfactory for diagnostic purposes, making adjustments to equipment as required.

Select appropriate equipment settings and adjust patient positions to obtain the best sites and angles.

Prepare patient for exam by explaining procedure, transferring patient to ultrasound table, scrubbing skin and applying gel, and positioning patient properly.

Observe and care for patients throughout examinations to ensure their safety and comfort.

Obtain and record accurate patient history, including prior test results or information from physical examinations.

Determine whether scope of exam should be extended, based on findings.

Maintain records that include patient information, sonographs and interpretations, files of correspondence, publications and regulations, or quality assurance records, such as pathology, biopsy, or post-operative reports.

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Top Skills used in this Job

Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others` reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.

Time Management - Managing one`s own time and the time of others.

Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others` actions.

Operation and Control - Controlling operations of equipment or systems.

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Top Abilities (Attributes of the person that influence performance in this job.)

Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

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Top Work Values (Aspects of this job that create satisfaction.)

Relationships - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Support - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

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Top Interests (The types of activities someone in this job would like.)

Investigative - Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Social - Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

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Alternate Titles

Registered Diagnostic Sonographers; Sonographers; Ultrasound Technicians; Ultrasound Technologists