February 2004 Vol. 22/No. 2

Current Trends and Needs of the Vascular Sonography Profession

The field of vascular ultrasound is growing and changing in many different ways. As sonographers, we have witnessed the gradual progression from non-imaging physiological studies to a field dominated by high resolution imaging and Doppler. In addition, we are getting busier and the demand for educated and credentialed sonographers is increasing. Data regarding trends in education and hiring expectations help us to meet the needs of our profession and better plan for the future.

Recently, Nova Southeastern University (www.nova.edu/sonography), a not-for-profit, private institution in Fort Lauderdale Florida, conducted a survey to determine the needs of vascular laboratories throughout the country. Nova is one of the few universities that provide a Bachelor of Health Science in Vascular Sonography. The purpose of the survey was to better understand what the vascular community requires in terms of education, credentials and trained technologists. As educators we feel it is important to share this information with our colleagues as it helps us all to see where we are and what direction were moving towards in the future.

Of the 4,900 surveys mailed, we received a total of 207 responses or (2%) from 33 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Collectively those vascular laboratories responding are performing almost 47,000 studies a month, averaging about 215 per lab. Of those responding, 147 labs (70%) are accredited and mostly by ICAVL (86%). In terms of education, only 57 of the vascular sonographers (28%) have a bachelor's degree or higher with Bachelor of Science being the most common post secondary degree. However, 129 (62%) want to seek a bachelors degree in the future.

Regarding labor needs, 165 labs (80%) will be hiring almost 390 vascular technologists in the next three years, an average of about 2 to 3 new hires for each lab. About 115 (55%) labs are willing to take a student for internship training, but 62 labs (38%), who say they are hiring in the next three years, state they are too busy to take a student to train. This is an unfortunate finding in that clinical sites are key to the successful training and without them the pool of qualified vascular sonographers will continue to remain insufficient.

In summary, vascular sonographers are relatively well educated, but more than half are seeking a bachelor’s degree. The labs are accredited, very busy and need more help. However, to meet the growing needs of the laboratories, we need your involvement in the future of our profession by helping to train students in clinical preceptorships. As you all are aware, the clinical experience is crucial to the training of future vascular sonographers. And we cannot achieve this without your help.

By Terrence D. Case M.Ed., RVT
Assistant Professor, Program Director
Bachelor of Health Science in Vascular Sonography
Nova Southeastern University
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Tel. 954.262.1220

tcase@nova.edu