Why Accreditation Is Important

“In the early years of echocardiography, it was not uncommon for sonographers to receive only on-the-job training. Today, education at an accredited school is essential,” says Linda Gillam in a 2004 presidential message for The American Society of Echocardiography. Three years later, the same statement holds true. As machines become more technologically advanced, doctors need sonographers who can run the complicated equipment and provide optimal images—images used to diagnose patients.

But it’s the accreditation statement that caught our eyes. Ms. Gillam didn’t state “graduation at any school offering sonography courses” she specifically said, “accredited school”.

What makes accreditation so important?

Accreditation means the school has undergone rigorous evaluation by its peers to make sure it’s offering the best education. Accreditation also means the school meets certain criteria and industry standards so that graduates are qualified to work in the real world as sonographers.

To make sure your school of choice has been properly accredited follow these tips:

• Ask the school who it is accredited by.
  
• Research the accrediting institution.
  Make sure it has the authority to accredit schools and that it actually checks out the schools, and not just the curriculum.
  

Come back on Friday as we discuss career changes.

Clinical Training

Anthony Rodriguez chose IAMP because he wanted to become a licensed sonographer. Upon graduation, we asked him what he liked about IAMP, his response, “The curriculum was very thorough, clear and well thought out. The clinical training was so exciting that three weeks into my clinical practice I was offered a position as a sonographer.” (Of course he had to graduate first.)

Anthony made a very important assessment in his evaluation of our school, “the clinical training was so exciting”. As a medical student, your clinical trainings help prepare you for the real world—if you don’t like the way you’re being taught, much of what you learn will be lost. But if you enjoy what you’re being taught, much of what you learn will stick and that excitement and enthusiasm will carry into your attitude and show when you speak to colleagues and patients.

In the world of medicine, clinical training is taking what you learned in the classroom and applying it to the real world. It’s much like apprenticeships of days gone by. A student meets with a licensed practitioner who monitors the student as he (or she) performs the day-to-day tasks. When an incident occurs that prevents the student from performing a specific duty (i.e. surgery), the licensed practitioner takes over and the student monitors everything that takes place. This hands-on training solidifies what the student learned in class.

When looking for a medical school in your area, ask to speak to recent graduates. Then ask those graduates about their clinical training:

• How many hours did they have to complete before graduation?
  
• What was the teacher to student ratio during clinicals?
  
• How much of the clinicals were hands-on versus watching the teacher and asking questions?
  
• What type of hands-on training did they receive?
  
• Did the clinicals work around traditional jobs? Were they mostly in the day or night?
  

Come back on Wednesday as we discuss why accreditation is important.