Echocardiography - Goal and Mission Statement
The goal of the Echocardiography program is to prepare competent entry-level sonographers in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains for the Adult Cardiac Sonography concentration.
What You'll Learn
When you obtain an Oregon Tech degree in Echocardiography (cardiac ultrasound) you will be prepared to use the extensive skills learned to obtain ultrasound images of the heart for diagnosis of cardiac related issues.
Oregon Tech maintains high-performance ultrasound machines to ensure that students are learning on the same equipment they will come across within their careers. While many schools use second-hand systems, partnerships with medical technology suppliers allow Oregon Tech to provide equipment that matches that found in the best healthcare settings. These machines are located in on-campus labs to provide students with on-site training and additional availability for practice.
With the combined technical and communication skills taught at Oregon Tech in this exciting field, graduates have had a 99% pass rate on the ARDMS (American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography) certification board exams for the past 10 years.
Oregon Tech Offers
- Only Bachelor of Science in Echocardiography offered in Oregon
- Full time clinical practice during student’s senior year
- Extensive hands-on training utilizing all new ultrasound machines
- Low student-faculty ratio means high engagement in hands-on imaging/learning opportunities
Contact
Leah was delighted to join the faculty at Oregon Tech in 2014. She has a passion for teaching and loves watching her students' grow in their knowledge, skills, and confidence during their time on campus. Leah was the 2024-25 Oregon Tech Foundation Excellence in Teaching award winner for the College of Health, Arts, and Sciences.
As an alumna of Oregon Tech, Leah has earned a Bachelor of Science in Vascular Technology ('03) as well as a Master of Science in Allied Health (now Healthcare Leadership) ('18). She fulfilled her clinical externship requirement in the Bronx, New York at Montefiore Medical Center, and began her imaging career in the San Francisco Bay Area. Working with Mint Medical, she functioned as a staff sonographer, then technical director of the vascular laboratory at Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara for 11 years. Leah also volunteers in the ultrasound community in various capacities, including on the Board of Directors of Inteleos and as a liaison between the Society for Vascular Ultrasound and the Joint Review Committee on Education in Cardiovascular Technology. She continues to consult in the field as an invited speaker and provides workshops for practicing sonographers and physicians across the world.
Outside of the classroom, Leah enjoys keeping up with her two children, traveling, and doing just about anything outdoors. Fun fact: Leah was an athletic and academic All-American softball player for the Hustlin' Owls in her undergrad years, and has been inducted into the Howard Morris Athletic Hall of Fame at Oregon Tech!!
Accreditation
The Echocardiography is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (www.caahep.org) upon the recommendation of the Joint Review Committee on Education in Diagnostic Medical Sonography.
CAAHEP Mailing address:
9355 - 113th St. N, #7709
Seminole, FL 33775
Phone:727-210-2350
Fax:727-210-2354
E-mail: mail@caahep.org
Outcomes
Oregon Tech gives students the highest quality experiences, supervision, education and industry practice to be competitive in the in-demand field of medical imaging. Oregon Tech graduates have excellent opportunities for employment in hospitals, clinics, private practice and state and federal agencies. Employment of sonographers is projected to grow 13% from 2024 to 2034 (bls.gov, 2024).
Top Employers
Featured Courses
Radiologic Science is a degree within the Medical Imaging Technology (MIT) department. Each degree under MIT requires prerequisite courses before admittance into the degree program. During this time, students are listed as Pre-Medical Imaging Technology (Pre-MIT) students. Admittance to the Oregon Tech Pre-MIT Program does not mean the student has been accepted into a specific MIT program.
- Full-year freshman/sophomore classes with labs in General Chemistry and Echocardiography that are foundations for everything else.
- General math to increase your quantitative skills.
- Classes in communication and humanities to complement your scientific education.
- Classes in social sciences including psychology and healthcare that are increasingly needed to understand the needs of today’s diverse populations.
- Full-year, upper-division classes in Advanced Anatomy & Physiology, including hands-on training with an electrocardiogram machine, and in Pathophysiology to understand dynamic aspects of the disease process.
- Full-year, upper-division classes in Echocardiography.
Cardiographic Methods
Recognition of ECG tracing with normal and abnormal arrhythmias, treadmill testing, holter monitoring, phonocardiography, and heart auscultation.
Invasive Cardiology
Cardiac catheterization testing. Coronary artery interventions such as percutaneous transluminal coronary intervention (PCI), and chamber pressure measurements.
Pediatric Echo
Congenital heart disease, including neonate/infant and adult disorders. Congenital disorders including cardiac situs, ventricular morphology, great artery connections, valvular and subvalvular obstruction, atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect.