Dear SDMS Members,

Let’s talk about one of the most difficult questions facing our profession today: How many exams are too many?

At the 2026 SDMS Annual Conference, our general session, “How Many Exams Are Too Many? A Conversation on Sonographer Workload and Quality”, brings this issue front and center. This isn’t a lecture. It’s an honest conversation about the realities of workload, the pressures behind exam volume, and what it means for quality, patient care, ergonomics, and your career.

As a sonographer, you know firsthand how workload pressures can affect quality, ergonomics, and career longevity.

Different settings. Different specialties. Different expectations. And real tension between productivity and quality. This session acknowledges these complexities and explores the challenges, the trade-offs, and unintended consequences of trying to define “too many”.

As a professional association, SDMS doesn’t establish or enforce workload mandates like a regulatory agency does, but we can do something just as powerful. We can bring the profession together, lead difficult conversations, and provide sonographers with resources and tools to advocate for better, safer, and more sustainable workplaces.

This is what Advocacy and Education for Sonographers looks like in action. Real dialogue about real issues that leads to making a real impact.

Registration for the 2026 SDMS Annual Conference opens May 13. Be there for the conversations that will shape what comes next. Progress starts when professionals are willing to speak openly, share experiences, and work toward solutions together.

With appreciation for the work you do and the challenges you navigate,