Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound Dalhousie University

Overview

Sonographers are highly skilled health care professionals who use ultrasound to look inside a patient's body, evaluate the condition of various organs and record digital pictures.

Sonographers evaluate organs and structures such as the liver, kidneys, heart, thyroid, blood vessels, muscles, ovaries and developing babies. Sonographers provide a summary of what they've discovered and discuss their findings with specialized doctors, who use this information to make a diagnosis.

The university also offers a 2-year post-diploma option designed to meet the needs of practicing sonographers that want to enhance their knowledge and expand career opportunities.

Programme options

As a Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound student at Dalhousie University , you will have many opportunities to do hands-on clinical work. During the eight-week summer clinical practicum after years 1, 2 and 3, you’ll put the knowledge learned in the classroom to real-life use in the hospital setting. Students may be placed in Halifax to complete the practicums but may also have to travel to locations elsewhere in the Maritimes.

In your 4th year, you have the option to earn a certificate in Cardiac Ultrasound, Vascular Ultrasound or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to customize your degree and enhance your future career options.

The post-diploma programme option is equivalent to 2 years of full-time university study (60 credit hours). To accommodate working professionals, the post-diploma programme is available on a full time or part-time basis and most of the courses are delivered online.

The following Health Sciences programme options are offered by Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Health. Connect with an academic advisor after you start your studies to explore options such as:

• Bachelor of Health Sciences with Discipline  

• Bachelor of Health Sciences (Post-Diploma)

• Certificates in Cardiac Ultrasound, Vascular Ultrasound or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

What you will learn

As a Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound student, you will take core professional development courses with a concentration on ultrasound specific knowledge and skills. The programme curriculum will prepare you to write the Sonography Canada professional examinations.

At Dalhousie, interprofessional collaboration starts in the classroom. Throughout your degree, you will work with students in other health programmes to learn from each other, enable effective collaboration and improve patient outcomes.

Careers

Sonographers usually work in hospitals or clinics; however, some sonographers work in related careers including managers, educators, or medical information technology (IT) specialists. You can also choose to focus your career on a specialized area such as cardiac or vascular sonography.

Possible careers include:

• Medical Sonographer

• Cardiac Sonographer

• Sonography Educator

• Equipment Sales Representative

Future studies could include specialization in another area of sonography or programmes at the graduate level in science or health.

Accreditation

The programme is fully accredited, making students and graduates eligible for membership with Sonography Canada.