Cardiovascular Sonography Program

The Cardiovascular Sonography program at Sanford-Brown College-Milwaukee (SBC) is designed to prepare the students to perform echocardiographic examinations under the direction of a physician / cardiologist. Students gain both didactic knowledge and practical experience in cardiovascular science, EKG, holter monitoring, telemetry, and echocardiography. The students will have the opportunity to study the anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology of the organ systems, recognize the EKG patterns of infarction, arrhythmia recognition, appreciate emergency protocols, and perform echocardiography. The core curriculum is structured to include a lecture component, an imaging laboratory component, and a clinical component. The final externship portion of the curriculum is structured to include supervised experiences in the clinical environment that require competencies, logs, and evaluations completed by the student. At the conclusion of the program, graduates who have diligently attended class and their externship, studied, and practiced their skills should have the skills to seek entry-level employment as cardiovascular sonographers.

Graduates of the Cardiovascular Sonography program are encouraged to take the credentialing examinations offered by Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI) and the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (ARDMS). These exams are voluntary but obtaining this credential does enhance employment opportunities. Graduates are eligible to apply for the Certified Cardiographic Technician (CCT) and Registered Cardiac Sonographer (RCS) examinations offered by CCI upon graduation, and to apply for the Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer (RDMS) exam offered by ARDMS after acquiring the necessary experience after graduation as defined by the ARDMS. Registration and certification requirements for taking and passing these examinations are not controlled by SBC but by outside agencies and are subject to change by the agency without notice. Therefore, SBC cannot guarantee that graduates will be eligible to take these exams, at all or at any specific time, regardless of their eligibility status upon enrollment.