Acuson X300 Siemen 3D part2

my fren's fetus. He sure is a shy little guy....hehe...Looking at them just makes me happy the whole day...:o)

This Is What Sonographer Do.

Of course this is not me in the photo. I just want to show you how we do our job.

source: http://www.dbh.nhs.uk/our_services/medical_imaging/ultrasound.asp

Education and training.

There are several avenues for entry into the field of diagnostic medical sonography. Sonographers may train in hospitals, vocational-technical institutions, colleges or universities, or the Armed Forces. Some training programs prefer applicants with experience in other healthcare professions or high school graduates with courses in mathematics, health, and science.

Colleges and universities offer formal training in both 2-year and 4-year programs, resulting in either an associate or a bachelor's degree. Two-year programs are the most prevalent. Coursework includes classes in anatomy, physiology, instrumentation, basic physics, patient care, and medical ethics. In 2008, the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) accredited over 150 training programs. Accredited programs are offered by colleges and universities. Some hospital programs are accredited as well.

A few 1-year programs that typically result in a vocational certificate also are accepted as proper education by employers. These programs are useful usually only for workers already employed in a healthcare occupation who seek to increase their marketability by training in sonography.

source: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos273.htm

Work environment.

Sonographers typically work in healthcare facilities that are clean. They usually work at diagnostic imaging machines in darkened rooms, but they also may perform procedures at patients' bedsides. Sonographers may be on their feet for long periods of time and may have to lift or turn disabled patients.

Some sonographers work as contract employees and may travel to several healthcare facilities in an area. Similarly, some sonographers work with mobile imaging service providers and travel to patients and use mobile diagnostic imaging equipment to provide service in areas that otherwise would not have access to such services.

Most full-time sonographers work about 40 hours a week. Some sonographers work overtime. Also, sonographers may have evening and weekend hours when they are on call and must be ready to report to work on short notice. 

p/s: This is the work environment for the sonographers in US or UK.It is quite different here in Malaysia. We don't travel except for those who do locums and part time as an application specialist.

Source: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos273.htm

Be A Sonographer?

The DMU (Asia) is internationally recognized and is awarded by the Australasian Society for Ultrasound in Medicine (ASUM) which is an ultrasound society involved in international ultrasound education since 1970.

AFFILIATED WITH ASUM

  ASUM has been an international accrediting standard in Australia and New Zealand for over three decades in the field sonography. Established in 1970, ASUM has been the government body in Australia and New Zealand ensuring high standards of sonography.

  In Australia/New Zealand, the medical insurance industry only recognizes claims on ultrasound scans conducted by qualified sonographers, which include DMU and DDU (Diploma of Diagnostic Ultrasound) holders.

  For more information on ASUM, please visit this website: http://www.asum.com.au/open/home.htm
WATCH SONOGRAPHY VIDEO - LEARN MORE!

  Watch a Sonography video from the SDMS, United States on an introduction to a career in diagnostic medical sonography.

http://www.sdms.org/career/video/   [Note: Requires Flash player and speakers]

3D by my long lost SE C510

O where O where has my CD gone....~

Am i too old or what? I just lost my valuable CD which I saved all the NT images and my best 3D images. Feel like crying out loud! I don't know what happen to me lately. I could easily forget things that I touch 5 minutes before. What should I do?

Obstetric Ultrasound Training

Since people are asking me to update them with the coming courses in Malaysia, I just want to inform you guys that, PPUKM Fetomaternal Unit is always open for any doctors who interested to learn ultrasound in our centre. I'm not sure about the payment and duration of the training. You should give us a call and discuss it with our Head  of Dept and Head of Unit.

This Is So Cool!

http://blog.cornerstorkbabygifts.com/index.php/2008/07/01/give-the-expectant-mom-this-unique-baby-gift-its-4-d-ultrasound/

This is not my own image. Just want to share the beauty of this image. Wonder how she managed to get this good image!

Black Or White....

This story was a couple of years ago. I was a newbie in Ultrasound at that time. A couple came to us for a detail scan. The husband is an Indian and the wife is a Chinese. After thedetails scan, The wife ask for a 3D scan. You know the reason why she wanted the 3D scan?? This is what she ask " Can you tell me from this scan, our baby is black or white?" Hah? I was too puzzled to answer the question and luckily my senior sonographer came to the rescue to amswer her question without embarassing her. So, please guys, don't ask that question if you ever have a chance to do a 3D scan for your fetus...:p

Sonographer Salary In Malaysia

I noticed that almost everyday, my visitors were searching for the salary of a sonographer back in Malaysia. Actually, this is a new job in Malaysia. So far the sonographer hired by private hospitals are those with 10 years over experience. As for me, I work in government hospital. So, the salary is according to the 41 grade. Not much but still something to make life goes on....I have a friend who work as an application specialist in ultrasound for an international company. She told me that her salary is RM6k and she can get as high as 15k a month depending on her locum as well. This is truly a job that people looking for but it is still new in Malaysia. All you got to do is graduated and get a job and dig as much experience and skills  as you can and you'll be as valuable as my friend. But, hey, if you don't mind about being abroad, just try to get a job in UK. The pay is much more higher than in Malaysia. trust me!

Details Scan

Just finished doing my details scan for today. We have 7 patients and I did 5 of them. For some patients, it was such a bless because I could scan everything in just 35-45 minutes. But, for some patients, I needed more patience and focus on getting the details. It hurted my arm pretty much. But, that's what makes me sonographer... No pain, no gain! Well, it's okay with 5 minutes rest before the next patient. I asked my fellow specialist about one case which the patient is only 20 weeks POA but it was so hard to visualize the fetus clearly and he asked me to do a study to solve the riddle in my head. Yup, I will do that and hoping that I will find something new!

World Cup 2010

Congratulations Spain for their best performance. They really did a good job and deserve the title. Since Spain is the World Champion I could see almost everybody were wearing spain's red jersey. Maybe they were so excited with the winning of their favourite team. I'm not a huge fan of football but, I did watch some games with my hubby. It was nice to have something to do with your soulmate. He was a football player back in our school days. So, sharing his interest made us a better couple each and everyday. During the World Cup month, we were talking and discussing everything about football. Which was not a hard thing for me because back in 2002 World Cup when I was working as a waitress in Restoran Rasa Utara, I read and watched almost every game ( at that time the games were aired on RTM's tv) just to make sure every customer who came to dine in our restaurant can get all the answers they wanted to know esp 'who's leading?', 'who's scored the goal?', and etc. By answering their question, I felt so happy!

NT Scan

Arggh!!! I almost injured my muscle while doing the NT scan just now. I had 2 patients with thick adiposity which cost me a real struggle to get the right angle for NT. Unfortunately, I couldn't press too hard because of the previous scar. So, I only managed to get 1 good NT fro a really skinny patient (:o) and the other two, I just had to ask them to come again later this week hoping that luck will be on my side to get the Nt and get it done!

Ductal Arch

The sagittal view of the ductal arch may play an important role in the screening and prenatal diagnosis of conotruncal anomalies in 4D ultrasonography.

Sources: 1)Ultrasonography in Obstetric & Gynaecology by Peter W. Callen(image)

            2)The Role of the Sagittal View of the Ductal Arch in Identification of Fetuses With Conotruncal   Anomalies Using 4-Dimensional Ultrasonography by:

Jimmy Espinoza, MD, Roberto Romero, MD, Juan Pedro Kusanovic, MD, Francesca Gotsch, MD, Offer Erez, MD, Wesley Lee, MD, Luís F. Gonçalves, MD, Mary Lou Schoen, RDMS and Sonia S. Hassan, MD

3 Vessels View of Heart

This image was captured by handphone from a book. It shows 3 vessels view of heart. At the top is the SVC, followed by Aorta and the the Pulmonary Artery. What a nice 3vv!

Source: Ultrasonography in Obstetric & Gynaecology by Peter W. Callen

WelcomeTo Our Fetomaternal Centre...

Last Friday, we have a good new. The department is giving us a new staff. So, that means our burdens can be share with the new sonographer. Since she is new and we have just a few cases that day, I spent my evening call to explain to her how our work flow is. Actually, for some people they think working as a sonographer in the government hospital might be a little stressful. Yes, if we look at the workloads we have everyday and we have to plan our courses and leaves really careful so that it doesn't jeopardise others. I could see in her eyes that she may face a real hard time to do this job. So, I told her the best and the worst scenarios that possibly may happens so that she will face it calmly. Whatever it is, when she finds the fun of doing this job she will be so happy to be chosen as one of our sonographer. So, I welcome her to our centre and hoping that she will do her best to keep up with the responsibility in helping the nations. :o)

Entrapment...

I'd just finished doing my details scan when I was trapped in the elevator. It took about 5 minutes for me to noticed that I was trapped in it. I thought someone is just fooling around with the elevator. But, when it went up and down  faster and faster continously, my heart began to pumping real fast. Maybe as fast as the elevator..My knee felt weak and I almost panicked! Suddenly my genius side took over my body and I press the button and tell the operator what is going on. It still didn't stop until I guess 10 minutes, the doors were opened and I quickly rushed out. I was as pale as Edward Cullen at that time. But thank God I'm still in one piece. Alhamdulillah~