1. SDMS: What we CAN'T do for you
2. 2007 SDMS Annual Conference Registration Deadline Approaching!
3. Membership Milestone: SDMS Welcomes 20,000th Member
4. Celebrate Sonography!
5. Now Available Through the SDMS!
6. News & Notes
7. Important Dates

The SDMS can do a lot of things. We can provide you with a continually refreshed supply of free or discounted CME credit opportunities, and even keep track of them for you. We can put on the largest sonographer conference in the world. We can be your advocate on Capitol Hill, and offer you liability insurance. Through the SDMS Educational Foundation, we can help pay for your education through grants and awards.

We can also offer you valuable salary and benefits information to make sure you are getting paid what you’re worth, and even offer you valuable prizes as an incentive to complete the survey.

What we can’t do… is complete the survey for you!

To make the SDMS Salary and Benefits Survey Report valuable to you, we need statistically sufficient data – the more the better.

To date, only about 5% of our members have completed this survey.

Remember, end-of-year performance evaluations and salary adjustments are coming. The SDMS Salary and Benefits Survey Report has been used as a critical resource by members preparing for those meetings. We need YOUR INFORMATION to make it work. The information you provide is confidential and only reported in aggregate.

Please give us just 10 minutes of your time to complete this survey at http://www.sdms.org/salarysurvey/default.asp. We have extended the deadline to October 15, 2007.

You will help yourself and thousands of your fellow sonographers, and greatly improve the quality of the Salary and Benefit Survey Report.

And what do we do with this valuable information? We give it to our members for free. We won’t sell or give it to anyone else... it’s an exclusive SDMS member benefit.

We would like to thank those of you who already completed the survey. You qualify for the prize drawings, and lucky for you, your odds of winning are good! As for the remaining 95% of the membership that have not yet completed the survey, we’re asking you to do so: (ala’ Jerry Maguire: please help us help you). Please complete the survey today, because it’s one of the few things we can’t do for you.

2. 2007 SDMS Annual Conference Registration Deadline Approaching!

The Annual Conference early registration deadline has come and gone. But you can still save $50 or more by registering for the 2007 SDMS Annual Conference in Las Vegas by September 10th. After September 10th, Late registration rates will apply. And even though the Red Rock Resort Spa is full, there are several alternate hotels offering special conference rates and complimentary shuttle service to and from the Red Rock each day.

Visit http://www.sdms.org/meetings/default.asp to register today!

Rebecca Elijah BS, RDMS, RDCS, RVT St. George, Utah

On Tuesday, August 14 a little after 4:00 p.m. (CDT), the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography welcomed Rebecca Elijah, BS, RDMS, RDCS, RVT of St George, Utah to the association as its 20,000th member. Rebecca is a sonographer who has been actively practicing in the profession for 11 years and holds a baccalaureate degree in Sonography from Seattle University. She is triple credentialed holding the RDMS, RVT, and RDCS credentials from the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonography. When asked what had attracted her to the sonography profession she offered the following comment; “I like the patient interaction. It’s rewarding to be able to offer good quality care to patients who are appreciative and happy that you are helping them.” Ms. Eljiah is a ‘returning member’ to the SDMS and explained her decision to rejoin the Society; “I know that the SDMS does a lot to support sonographers through government relations activities and lobbying efforts on behalf of the membership, and I know that this is extremely helpful. I also appreciate and look forward to receiving the association’s publications.”

SDMS has experienced unparalleled growth over the last eight years having expanded its membership from the 9,000 range in 2000 to over 20,000 in 2007. Jean Lea Spitz, the SDMS President, made the following comments regarding the Society’s growth; “Our growth rate is a phenomenal success story by anyone’s standards. We exist to support and provide services to our sonographer members and to promote quality patient care. Our growth has been fueled by our ability to deliver the educational products and services that sonographers value. We are a membership-focused organization, respected within the professional community for our leadership and commitment to our members’ needs and interests.”

Every year, SDMS and other sonography organizations join together to promote the month of October as Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month to increase the public’s awareness about sonography. This year’s high-tech design labels sonography as the new surround sound.

Posters, ceramic mugs, canvas tote bags, buttons, and pens-on-a-rope with the new slogan are now available for purchase. Simply visit http://www.sdms.org/resources/muam for more information or call us at 800-229-9506 to order.

Item # 8624
Abdominal Ultrasound: A Practitioner's Guide
Kathryn A. Gill, MS, RT, RDMS

CME Credits: 16 hours
Format: Hardcover, 504 pp.
SDMS Member Price: $103.50
Non-member Price: $115.00

Here is a powerful addition to the literature with something for everyone. For exam candidates, Kathy Gill’s Abdominal Ultrasound: A Practitioner’s Guide covers the ARDMS exam topics in colorful detail. For sonographers in training and educators it offers superbly illustrated and wonderfully written how-to instruction together with dozens of features that make learning easy and—dare we say it?—fun. For veteran sonographers and department managers it is a powerful addition to your reference library, full of facts, tips, explanations, CME credit, and images for the ultrasound professionals who perform and interpret the exams.

In beautifully illustrated detail this hardbound text covers anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, test indications, interpretation, scanning techniques, tips, and pitfalls.

• Coverage includes the liver, gallbladder and biliary tree, pancreas, kidneys and bladder, spleen, nonroutine views, thyroid, breast (excellent chapter), scrotum, prostate, contrast agents, intraoperative sonography, other diagnostic modalities, and Doppler basics.

• Nearly 1,000 illustrations demonstrate normal and abnormal views, artifacts, patient positions, scanning techniques, clinical anatomy, principles of ultrasound, ultrasound instrumentation, and correlative radiologic and nuclear medicine studies. Gray scale and color flow images are reproduced in exacting detail.

• Key terms and concepts are listed in the margin at the beginning of each chapter. A complete glossary appears at the end of the book.

• End-of-chapter self-assessment quizzes focus and guide your study.

• Anatomy-labeling exercises ensure your mastery of essential anatomic facts, scan planes, and physiologic concepts.

The News & Notes column includes links to web-based news articles of interest to sonographers. The articles do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of the SDMS. To submit articles, send the URL to webmaster@sdms.org.