Abdomen-Extended & OB/GYN (Ultrasound)

Overall employment of medical sonographers and cardiovascular technologists is projected to grow 14 percent from 2020 to 2030, faster than the average for all occupations.

Sonography (ultrasound) uses sound waves to generate an image for the assessment and diagnosis of various medical conditions. It can be used to diagnose and treat a variety of medical conditions in the body. It is often associated with imaging during pregnancy. Sonographers provide guidance during fine-needle tissue biopsy and use sophisticated diagnostic ultrasound imaging machines and transducers that use high-frequency sound waves to produce dynamic visual images of:

• Abdominal organs (including liver, gallbladder, kidney)
• Pelvis
• Obstetrics (pregnancy)
• Superficial structures (including breast, testis, thyroid)
• Abdominal blood vessels

Sonographers work directly with healthy and critically ill inpatients and outpatients of all ages, performing predominantly noninvasive procedures in small, low-lit rooms. They stand or sit beside the patient, who is on a stretcher, exam table or wheelchair. Sometimes the sonographer will transport a portable ultrasound to a patient's room, emergency department, or operating roomto perform the examination there.

The mission of the Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program is to provide a comprehensive education preparing students for entry-level practice in Sonography as competent, caring members of the health care team, cultivating professionalism and life-long learning.

Students may complete this concentration as part of any of our Department Bachelor Programs. Dual-Concentration students can choose Abdomen-Extended & OB/GYN in their first year. Abdomen-Extended & OB/GYN is most often combined with Vascular Sonography and Cardiac Sonography.  

Students must consult an admissions counselor or a Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences faculty member when choosing concentrations, to help make sure that the combination you choose is the best option for your future career.

The goal of this program is to prepare competent entry-level sonographers in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains in abdomen sonography-extended and obstetrics and gynecology sonography.

All BS graduates are eligible to take the associated certification examinations of the organizations that oversee the concentration of study. Students who pass these examinations receive national certification. Dual-Concentration students may not be able to take certification exams until they receive their BS.

Depending on the concentration, sonography certification may be provided by the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (ARDMS), Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI), or the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT)

Program Effectiveness Data

Program Effectiveness data is provided by the Program Director and is updated annually.  Data collected November 2024

Note: The Program Effectiveness Data spreadsheet includes statistics from six (6) cohorts of students:

• Cohort 1:  1 year Abdomen-Extended & OB/GYN (ABOB)
• Cohort 2:  1 year Adult Echocardiography
• Cohort 3:  1 year Vascular
• Cohort 4:  2 year ABOB + Adult Echocardiography
• Cohort 5:  2 year ABOB + Vascular
• Cohort 6: 2 year Vascular + Adult Echocardiography

Thomas Jefferson University, Abdomen-Extended & OB/GYN Program, 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.

Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP)

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