We already talked a bit about the job description and what exactly an Ultrasound Tech does in our previous articles. Let us today take a closer look at some of the job duties of an Ultrasound Technician. The Ultrasound technician has complete responsibility for all aspects of the ultrasound laboratory in which they work. The laboratory can be simply an office or room within a hospital or a stand alone office or facility. The ultrasound technician has a job where they interact with patients and their referring doctors on a daily basis but all reports, paperwork, and analysis is the sole responsibility of the technician. This combination of fully independent work and regular communication with others is one thing that makes the ultrasound technician job attractive. Some careers are overloaded with interpersonal time and others are filled with independent work without interaction from others. But the ultrasound technician has a balance of both.
To understand the job duties of an ultrasound technician it would be helpful if we simply discuss a typical day for an ultrasound technician. This interaction will show the various things the technician is responsible for handling.
When the ultrasound technician comes in for the day they first need to check the schedule of patients that they are going to test for that day. The technician is solely responsible for keeping and making this schedule. They then need to review the charts and medical documentation for each patient and ensure that the proper medical supplies that will be needed for the day are stocked within the ultrasound lab. They may also need to contact the doctor’s that have referred the days patients to seek any clarification on the tests that need to be performed. Now that the supplies are accounted for, and the daily schedule has been checked, and the technician has a clear understanding of the patients needs for that day, the technician is ready to check the equipment.
The technician needs to check all of the equipment daily to ensure that it is properly functioning. If there are any malfunctions, they need to fix them or get substitute equipment in immediately in order to handle the days case load. Once the equipment is checked, prepared, and calibrated for the day they are ready tot meet with patients.
When a patient arrives the technician needs to take great care to ensure that the patient they are seeing and testing matches the medical file they were sent. An error in tracking or performing the wrong tests can cause a problem, and so the technician makes certain everything matches the file by causally talking with the patient. The casual conversation will reflect things in the file in order to ensure everything matches. They then describe the procedures that need to be done with the patient and explain to them what to expect. Because some procedures are in sensitive areas, the technician needs to be a master at building strong rapport in order to gain cooperation and the trust of the patient.
During the procedure and test, the technician needs to take great care to still communicate to the patient but not to communicate any results of the test. This is because it is up to the technician to perform the test and communicate the results to the doctor only. The technician is not allowed to interpret the tests because the interpretation is considered a diagnosis and that is something only the doctor can perform.
The technician is however responsible for gaining the best and most precise imaging of the areas they have been requested to test. The technician is also expected to be cognizant of anything during the test that would require further imaging. If there is something in the images that the doctor will want to see, even if not ordered, the technician is responsible for providing this extra information to the doctor. It is not that the technician is performing a diagnosis, but they are responsible for making note of any thing that is abnormal during the tests.
After the patient leaves, the technician is responsible for preparing a full report on the test and the findings. They then ship that report with the imaging video back to the referring doctor. The referring doctor will oftentimes contact the technician for clarification on their report and/or images.
The above is a basic detail of an ultrasound technician’s job duties. While it is far from all inclusive and many ultrasound technicians do not work in this specific type of environment, it shows how the technician is responsible for many different tasks. They are responsible for their equipment, scheduling, reporting, analysis of patients and test results, reporting back to the doctor, and communicating with referring doctor’s as well as patients. It also shows how the technician is responsible for one-on-one communication and physical contact with the patient.
Related posts:
