New Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program underway

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - There’s a new program at the Roanoke Higher Education Center focused on improving heath care in Southwest Virginia.

This is the first year for the Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program.

Program Director Elaine Nichols says, “We’re accredited in abdomen extended, which of course is looking at livers and gallbladders, and pancreas, those kinds of things. We also do OBGYN, We’re accredited in that and of course, that’s babies and gynecology. And then of course, we’re accredited in vascular. So our program has three components to it. Most programs in the state of Virginia only have two.”

The program, which takes about two years to complete, is split into three parts.

“You do your book work, you listen to lectures, you have lots of homework. Then we have our lab component, and that’s where the students come on campus and they work with sonographers, learning how to scan. And then there’s the third component, which is clinical work, which basically they go out, and they do this practice on real patients in the clinical field, whether it be hospitals, private offices, clinics.”

Students like Elizabeth Crandall say it’s a program even for the busiest of people.

“I was looking for a school and I couldn’t find one close by until I found SOVAH, you know, and they opened up the Roanoke campus and it just fit perfectly with my schedule as a mom of four, and I love the medical side and I love to help people, and I love to help patients. So it was a perfect fit for me.”

She says the clinical work is a crucial part of the program.

“I love to see what we’re learning in the book basically come to life when you’re in that clinical setting. Everybody’s body is completely different. There’s no two livers that look the same or two aortas; everything is different and so you want to get that hands-on experience, meeting people and seeing what their back story is, what complications they’re having and then you couple that with the textbook knowledge.”

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Since it’s an accredited program, students can be job-ready even before they graduate.

Nichols says, “They’re allowed to sit for their board six months before they graduate. So they will actually graduate with credentials, which makes them hirable, at any of our local facilities.”

Crandall says it’s a medical profession that can have a huge impact on health care in our hometowns.

“Sonography plays a huge role in trying to help the patient get the answers that they need.”