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Sydney
Student
Clark, New Jersey
1
Question
Updated
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What would you say is the most challenging part of the body to learn for diagnostic medical sonography?
College Freshman, DMS major
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Téa C.
Diagnostic Medical Sonographer
18
Answers
Salt Lake City, Utah
Updated
Téa’s Answer
Hello!
I didn't have any medical or health care background when I got into my sonography program. So personally, the most difficult to learn were leg veins. Learning it all was difficult as a new student since
1) veins & arteries looked the same on ultrasound - to me it was all just black circles & tubular structures, compared to learning abdominal organs where each organ had a very distinct appearance.
2) vein names just depended on where they were - it was my first time hearing terms like "popliteal," so I didn't initially make the connection that "the vein behind the knee is called the 'popliteal' vein because it's at the popliteal fossa (aka, area behind the knee)."
3) I'd forget which were "deep" veins & where certain veins were.
4) I'd sometimes struggle to compress the vein enough in some areas - we need to compress (aka squish) the veins as we check for blood clots, but where the veins gets deeper you need to push harder, & you need to make sure bone isn't getting in the way of your compression.
I didn't have any medical or health care background when I got into my sonography program. So personally, the most difficult to learn were leg veins. Learning it all was difficult as a new student since
1) veins & arteries looked the same on ultrasound - to me it was all just black circles & tubular structures, compared to learning abdominal organs where each organ had a very distinct appearance.
2) vein names just depended on where they were - it was my first time hearing terms like "popliteal," so I didn't initially make the connection that "the vein behind the knee is called the 'popliteal' vein because it's at the popliteal fossa (aka, area behind the knee)."
3) I'd forget which were "deep" veins & where certain veins were.
4) I'd sometimes struggle to compress the vein enough in some areas - we need to compress (aka squish) the veins as we check for blood clots, but where the veins gets deeper you need to push harder, & you need to make sure bone isn't getting in the way of your compression.
Thank you for your response!
Sydney