Students get extensive hands-on training in the sonography and simulation laboratories
on UAA’s campus, as well as through clinical experiences in hospital and outpatient
settings.
The Diagnostic Medical Sonography (DMS) program provides education and training to
prepare students for employment as a general sonographer. The program also prepares
students for national certification exams from the American Registry for Diagnostic
Medical Sonography and the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists, which many
health care employers require.
Sonographers use a transmitting device called a transducer to send out high-frequency
ultrasound waves into a patient. The reflected sound forms echoes, and those echoes
generate a visual representation of the patient’s internal organs, vasculature, and
other soft tissue structures. The images produced are used to diagnose, treat, and
screen for medical conditions. Sonographers work under the supervision of a radiologist
or other physician in a variety of medical settings and health facilities.
The diagnostic medical sonography profession has three primary career paths: general
sonography (abdominal organs, pregnancy, female reproductive system, and most of the
other body systems), cardiac sonography (heart), and vascular technology (blood vessels).
The UAA DMS program boasts a 100 percent pass rate on the American Registry of Diagnostic
Medical Sonographers’ Sonographic Principles and Instrumentation Exam.
The UAA College of Health proudly celebrated the recent renovation of Sally Monserud Hall with a ribbon-cutting ceremony showcasing the new high-tech labs and simulation center, expanded allied health programs, growth of the WWAMI program and critical partnerships addressing Alaska’s growing health care needs.
“I never thought I would be involved in philanthropy, but after gaining an in-depth understanding of the program and working with Dr. Tina DeLapp, I decided to establish an endowment to the Recruitment and Retention of Alaska Natives into Nursing (RRANN), as a beneficiary of my modest estate.”