1. Cast Your Vote in the SDMS 2004 Elections
2. Educator Resources Expanded and Consolidated on SDMS Website
3. New Overtime Pay Rule Restrictions will Not Affect Sonographers
4. SDMS Members to Receive Complimentary Copy of MUAM Poster
5. SDMS 2004 Annual Conference Registration Begins
6. Bizzare Case: Water Intoxication
7. New York Bill Would Ban Keepsake Ultrasounds
8. Certification News
9. Australian Post Office Releases Ultrasound Stamp
10. News & Notes
11. Important Dates

Not only is this the place to vote, you can learn more about the candidates, their position on professional issues, and communicate directly with them. Take this opportunity to inform yourself. Then, vote for the candidates who you believe will best represent your views on issues and the future of SDMS and the profession.

Board elections are being held in Region 1, Region 5, and Region 6. Elections are also being held for 4 positions on the Nominating Committee. SDMS members in the following membership categories are eligible to vote in SDMS elections: Active (ACT), Associate (ASC), Fellow (FEL), Advanced Practice Sonographer® (APS®).

In the "Members Only" section of the SDMS Website, check out the new addition of Resources for Educators. "This addition provides 'one-stop shopping' for educators looking for helpful information," said Doug Jones, Chair of the SDMS Educators Committee. "In response to on-going issues of recruiting and retaining clinical affiliate sites, the Educators Committee, with generous assistance from educators around the country as well as SDMS staff, prepared a new Guide to Recruitment and Retention of Clinical Affiliate Sites which is part of this compendium of resources," Jones added.

Background: The United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued new rules re-defining exemption status regulations that relates to Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). These regulations provide an update, clarification, and in some cases re-definition of those employees who qualify for an exemption from the overtime pay requirements of the FLSA. This is the first major revision to the overtime regulation provisions of the FLSA in over 50 years. These DOL rule changes were first issued in April of 2004 and are effective August 23rd, 2004. The FLSA generally requires that employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage ($5.15---some states have set minimum wage requirements at a higher level) and overtime pay at one-and-one-half of the employee's regular pay rate for all hours worked over 40 hours in the work week.

The original overtime rules (dating back to the 1940's) defined those occupational categories which were 'exempt' from the overtime pay regulations; historically these included:

• The employee is paid at least a certain compensation level
• The employee is paid on a salary basis, rather than an hourly basis
• The employee performs certain exempt duties

The revised DOL overtime regulations, on the whole, reduce the number of employees who are subject to the mandatory federal overtime regulations. Among the new 'tests' reflected in the revised regulations are tests related to salary levels, duties, executive employee status, administrative employee status, professional employee status, and highly compensated employees.

Additional information can be accessed online at: http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/wages/index.htm

Results: In a Fair Pay Fact sheet (no. 170), published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment Standards Administration Wage and Hour Division, the DOL provides information specifically excluding 'ultrasound technologists' from the new overtime pay regulations that restrict overtime eligibility. Although this is subject to future change, this means sonographers should continue to be eligible for overtime pay.

Additional information of the DOL fact sheet can be accessed online at: http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/fairpay/fs17o_technicians.htm

All current SDMS members will receive a complimentary copy of the 2004 Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month poster with their September/October 2004 issue of the JDMS. Bracco Diagnostics, Inc., through their generous sponsorship of this mailing, has joined the SDMS to help increase public awareness about medical ultrasound and its multiple applications. Proudly display this attractive poster, "Sound Insight," in your office, clinic, hospital, and classroom during October 2004.

Do you work in more than one location and would like to display this poster in all of them? Additional copies may be purchased from SDMS at $4 for SDMS members and $6 for non-members.

For more information about Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month, visit:

From the OB/GYN forum in the SDMS Discussion Forums

Recently, we had a 60 y.o. patient who had a pelvic ultrasound. She drank 32 oz. of water prior to her appointment, was not full and continued to drink water while waiting to fill. We estimate she drank approx 1 1/2 quarts of water total. Once her bladder was full, her exam was completed without incident. The patient was fine until her husband was awakened by a strange noise at midnight. He assumed the patient was having a nightmare but found she was unresponsive and called 911. She was diagnosed with hyponatremia due to water intoxication that had caused brain swelling. The patient was hospitalized for 2 days and fully recovered. I have been doing u/s for more than 20 years and have not heard of this before. Neither have the radiolgists or sonographers I work with. Due to HIPAA we are unable to ascertain if the pateint is diabetic or on any medication. My questions are: Have you experienced this? & Do you limit the amount of water you allow your patients to drink when you need them to have a full bladder?

To learn more about this case (or to offer your own response), visit the SDMS Discussion Forums at:

New York State Senate Deputy Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos (R-C, Rockville Centre) recently announced the introduction of legislation prohibiting non-medical ultrasounds used solely for entertainment purposes. Although private prenatal "photography" shops have appeared in shopping malls around the country, New York’s first private ultrasound studio recently appeared in Manhattan.

As introduced by Senator Skelos, S.6776-A would restrict the administration of any ultrasound on a pregnant woman to those performed pursuant to an order or referral by a licensed physician, nurse practitioner or licensed midwife. In addition, the legislation prohibits the dispensation of ultrasounds for entertainment purposes or those not warranted by the condition of the patient. If enacted, a violation of this new law would be a Class A misdemeanor, with a maximum prison sentence of one year.

For more information, visit:

ARDMS

ARDMS Extends Comment Deadline and Expands Areas of Comment

For more information, please review the new ARDMS announcement at:

NOTE: SDMS has prepared responses to the additional questions posed by ARDMS. The SDMS' response to all the Prerequisite 2 questions can be found at:

On May 18, the Australia Post released five stamps in the Australian Innovations issue featuring Australian innovations that are now part of every day life, not just in Australia but around the world. A stamp highlighting ultrasound imaging is included. The words: "Australian Innovations, Ultrasound Imaging Equipment, 1976" appear on the stamp.

According to the Australian Post website, George Kossoff and colleagues at the Ultrasonics Institute (then part of the Commonwealth Health Department, later transferred to the CSIRO) pioneered the use of ultrasound in medical diagnosis. They made a technical breakthrough called 'grey scale imaging', which enabled them to produce images of much greater clarity and detail. It was an important step leading to the widespread adoption of ultrasound throughout the world.

The Australian Post has also released a set of "maximum" cards (5 pre-printed postcards with a stamp on it) and a "first day" card that features all 5 innovations. The stamp and cards can be ordered from:

The News & Notes column includes links to web-based news articles of interest to sonographers. To submit articles, send the URL to webmaster@sdms.org