SDMS Sound News

Volume 7, Issue 3          March 31, 2005                ISSN 1543-0448

 
  In This Issue...
  1. The SDMS Sonographer Salary & Benefits Survey Results are in!
  2. SDMS Named as Approved ARDMS CME Provider
  3. SDMS Welcomes New Staff Member
  4. What's Inside the Latest Issue of JDMS?
  5. SDMS Discussion Forums – Changes Made to Better Serve our Members
  6. SDMS Awards and Competitions: The Clock is Ticking!
  7. Call for Courses
  8. Meet the Board Online
  9. Earn SDMS CME Credit for College Courses
  10. New Products Coming in the SDMS 2005-2006 Product Catalog
  11. SDMS Representative Participates in National Conference
  12. News & Notes
  13. Important Dates

This issue of SDMS Sound News is sponsored by GE Healthcare, a PLATINUM sponsor of SDMS.
GE Healthcare is the leading global pharmaceutical provider of diagnostic imaging products. GE Healthcare is dedicated to providing healthcare professionals with products that expand and improve their diagnostic capabilities and contribute to the treatment of disease. With a focus in cardiovascular imaging, GE Healthcare markets Optison (Perflutren Protein-Type A Microspheres for Injection, USP) for use in echocardiography.

SDMS Sound News is a way of sharing important or time-sensitive news with our members. It supplements our print newsletter, News Wave, and provides links to new information and services available on the SDMS web site. SDMS Sound News is published monthly. An archive of past issues is available at http://www.sdms.org/lists/soundnewsarchive.asp 		 
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  1. The SDMS Sonographer Salary & Benefits Survey results are in!

More than 2,500 SDMS members have already downloaded their copy of the 110-page SDMS Sonographer Salary and Benefits Survey report. The report provides the most comprehensive sonographer pay and benefits information ever assembled. Learn how your current salary and benefits compare or use the information in your next salary negotiation!

An Executive Summary highlights key findings within each of the content sections of the survey report. These sections include:

  • Compensation
  • Demographics
  • Employment Status
  • Practice Setting
  • Specialty, Certification, and Education
  • Benefits
  • Job Satisfaction
  • Sonographer Shortage
The report is provided FREE to SDMS members as an exclusive membership benefit. The report is only available in electronic format (requires free Adobe Acrobat/Reader software to view/print). The report is not available in printed format from SDMS.

To obtain your free copy of the report, visit the Members Only area of the SDMS website at: http://www.sdms.org/members/

 
  2. SDMS Named As Approved ARDMS CME Provider

The American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS) has notified the SDMS that it has successfully completed the ARDMS Accepted Continuing Education Evaluation Model System (ACCEEMS) process and has been approved as an ARDMS CME provider. This CME approval is good for a period of three years. 		 
  3. SDMS Welcomes New Staff Member

The SDMS is pleased to announce the newest addition to the SDMS staff. Victoria (Vicky) Binder has been hired as the Assistant Director of Education & Meetings, starting Tuesday, April 12. She brings us over 13 years of experience in the non-profit healthcare sector having served as the Scientific Exhibits Manager and the CME Program Manager for the American Academy of Family Physicians. Her responsibilities have included the management of a national conference with 250 speakers and over 500 course events. Vicky also served as the Accreditation Manager for a national commercial education company providing services to healthcare clients. We are fortunate to have attracted someone of Vicky's expertise and experience.

After Vicky's arrival on April 12, please join the SDMS staff in welcoming her to the SDMS Leadership Team.

 
  4. What's inside the latest issue of JDMS?

Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography
March/April 2005    Vol. 21, No. 2

The latest issue of the Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (JDMS) features the following articles (including three with CME credits available):

  • Adult Echocardiography and Doppler *CME* [Karen L. Strub]
  • Prenatal Detection of Congenital Mesoblastic Nephroma and Its Differentiation From Wilms Tumor: A Literature Review [Marika Kurata and Terry Read]
  • Evaluation of Hemivertebrae and Fetal Ribs Using 3D Sonography *CME* [Jayne C. Moser]
  • Sonographic Evaluation of Arteritis *CME* [Sarah Rogers]
  • Branchial Cleft Cysts and Other Related Anomalies [Anne Walton and Kim Michael]
  • Anomalous Left Coronary Artery From the Pulmonary Artery (ALCAPA) [Kristen Hallmark]
  • The Role of Intraoperative Sonography in Neurosurgery [Marie Janson, Kim Michael, Jody Berg, and Joseph C. Anderson]
  • Stressors and Employee Retention in the Diagnostic Medical Sonography Department [Steven M. Penny]
  • Instructing Sonographers for the Future: It's Not About Me [Jody L. Hancock]

*CME* = CME credit available

This issue of JDMS also contains the March/April SDMS News Wave which features the following news stories:

  • Research Sonography: Advancing the Field (first in a series of articles exploring career opportunities for sonographers)
  • SDMS Government Relations Activities Underway
  • SDMS Educational Foundation Announces Available Scholarships, Grants and Awards
To view the JDMS CME articles and complete the online CME tests, visit:
http://www.sdms.org/members/JDMS/default.asp#available

To access this and past issues of the JDMS online, visit:
http://www.sdms.org/members/JDMS/highwire.asp

 
  5. SDMS Discussion Forums – Changes made to better serve our members

Restructuring and Facilitators

After 4 successful years, the SDMS Discussion Forums are evolving to better serve our members. We have consolidated several forums to bring discussions of related information closer together. For example, the Career/Job Issues forum now incorporates discussions on the Ultrasound Practitioner concept. Pediatric and Fetal Echocardiography have been combined into a single forum. And one new “Ultrasound Physics” forum includes all discussions of physics instead of separate ultrasound, cardiac, and vascular physics forums. The forum for National Certification Examination has been discontinued but is still available so members can view past postings (new messages cannot be posted). New discussions related to national certification examinations can be posted in the applicable content area forums.

We have also asked volunteer facilitators to participate in each of the discussion forums. The facilitators will ensure answers are provided to everyone’s questions. The facilitators will also pose thought-provoking questions to encourage participation in each forum. For example, the Research forum will now be titled Research/Publication and will be facilitated by the JDMS Associate Editors who will be able to offer tips on conducting research and getting your research published in the JDMS. A complete list of the SDMS Discussion forums and the volunteer facilitators is listed below.

To access the SDMS Discussion forums, visit:
http://www.sdms.org/members/forums/

Discussion Forum Volunteer Facilitator(s)
EducatorsSDMS Educators Committee
SDMS Educational FoundationRegina Swearengin, Susan Raatz Stephenson, Carolyn Coffin
StudentsMandy Johnson
Career/Job Issues (including UP)Richie Palma
Government Affairs/ReimbursementShannon Boswell
Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD) Joan Baker
Research/Publication (including JDMS)Michelle Bierig, Sandy Hagen-Ansert
Veterinary UltrasoundFern Delaney
Region 1Joy Guthrie
Region 2Cindy Rapp
Region 3Regina Swearingen
Region 4Lynne Schreiber
Region 5Marsha Neumyer
Region 6Felicia Jones
Region 7Nancy Chouinard
Abdomen (AB)Rhonda Boesken
Adult Echocardiography (AE)Donna Moore
Breast (BR)Ched Baker
Pediatric & Fetal Echocardiography (PE/FE)Charlotte Henningsen
Neurosonology (NE)Pamela Cox-Brathwaite
OB/GYN (OB)Audrey Fleming
Vascular (VT)Darren Campbell
Ultrasound Physics (including CPI/UPI/VPI)Anthony Swartz

 
  6. SDMS Awards and Competitions: The clock is ticking!

There is still time for students and sonographers to prepare and submit their application for the following award/competitions:

  • May 13 - W. Frederick Sample Student Excellence Award
  • May 20 - Scientific Presentation Competition
  • July 1 - Sonographer Poster Exhibit Competition
  • July 1 - Student Sonographer Poster Exhibit Compeition

For more information about the W. Fredick Sample Student Excellence Award or the competitions, visit:

http://www.sdms.org/pdf/awards.pdf 		 
  7. SDMS 2006 Annual Conference Course and Faculty Proposals Needed
The SDMS Conference Management Committee (CMC) will begin planning the 2006 Annual Conference shortly after the conclusion of the 2005 Conference in Dallas, Texas. To assist the CMC in its continuing efforts to provide a conference that meets your needs and exceeds your expectations, you are encouraged to submit course and faculty proposals for the 2006 Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado. All proposals will be considered by the CMC during the 2006 Annual Conference planning meetings.

PROPOSALS DUE BY SEPTEMBER 2, 2005
For requirements and instructions for submitting proposals, please visit http://www.sdms.org/pdf/call4courses.pdf

 
  8. Meet the SDMS Board Online

Visit the SDMS website to learn more about the SDMS Board of Directors. We've updated our online Board listing with photos and information about each Board members area(s) of specialization. Contact information is also included for each board member so that members can ask questions or voice concerns.

To visit the SDMS Board page, go to: http://www.sdms.org/members/board.asp

 
  9. Earn SDMS CME Credit for College Courses

The ARDMS currently requires first-time registry applicants (refer to ARDMS prerequisite requirements) to document a minimum of 12 clock hours of education specific to the credential exam for which they are sitting. SDMS offers members a mechanism with which to meet this requirement.

The SDMS Continuing Medical Education (CME) Guidelines include a program in which CME credits may be awarded for specific college courses. The process is simple and free for SDMS members and you may be eligible.

For more information, visit http://www.sdms.org/pdf/collegecme.pdf

 
  10. New Products coming in the SDMS 2005-2006 Product Catalog

The SDMS Product 2005-2006 Product Catalog will be available in May. Look for these new products:
  • Women's tailored polos - in Navy and Chili (These are the ones YOU voted for in our SDMS Fashion Focus Survey at the 2004 Annual Conference!)
  • 2005 Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month Merchandise
  • The Umbilical Cord CD-ROM Philippe Jeanty, MD, PhD
  • Genetic Sonography CD-ROM Greggory R. DeVore, M.D.
 
  11. SDMS Representative Participates in National Conference

Stephanie Ellingson of Washington, Iowa recently participated in the Health Professions Network (HPN) conference in San Diego, California on behalf of the SDMS. HPN convenes twice annually to discuss issues essential to the allied health community, which represents over 60 percent of the entire U.S. health care workforce. There are hundreds of professions in addition to nurses and physicians that deliver health care in the country.

To read more about the conference, visit http://www.healthpronet.org/prog_resources/FL_General_Spring05.html

 
  12. News & Notes

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

  
  13. Important Dates
2005  
March 31 SDMS Educational Foundation Scholarship deadline
April 16 SDMS Board of Directors Meeting, Dallas, Texas
May 13 W. Frederick Sample Award Deadline
May 20 Scientific Presentation Competition Deadline
June 30 SDMS Educational Foundation Research Awards deadline
July 1 Sonographer Poster Exhibit Competition Deadline
July 1 Student Sonographer Poster Exhibit Competition Deadline
July 31 SDMS Educational Foundation Scholarship deadline
July 31 SDMS Educational Foundation CME Grants deadline
Oct 1 - Oct 31 Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month
Oct 6 - 9 2005 SDMS Annual Conference, Dallas, Texas
Oct 10 - 11 SDMS Board of Directors Meeeting, Dallas, Texas
November 30 SDMS Educational Foundation Scholarship deadline
Dallas DAZZLES! SDMS 2005 Annual Conference - Dallas, TX - Oct. 6-9, 2005
 
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© Copyright 2005. Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography, Plano, TX. All Rights Reserved.