Echocardiographic Technician

Thousands of times each day, the heart pulls in blood and squeezes it back out again. If the heart deteriorates in some way and the blood begins to pool or stops moving, death could soon follow. Spotting heart disease symptoms may be relatively easy, but determining the cause of the disease often means subjecting the patient to a battery of tests. One such test is the echocardiogram, which is performed by an Echocardiographic Technician.

When you’re an Echocardiographic Technician, patients visit your clinic on the orders of their Doctors, and they may know quite a bit about the test you’re about to perform. Just to be safe, you tell them the details of the test before you begin, and you ensure that all their questions are answered. Then, you ask the patient to change into a surgical gown and lie down on the treatment table. While your patient changes, you rub your hands together so your icy fingers don’t cause a shock.

For a basic echocardiogram, you attach sensors to the person’s chest and run a wand across it to capture photographs of the beating heart. Sometimes, you ask your patient to run on a treadmill for a few moments, and then you perform the same test again. Other times, you administer a small amount of anesthesia, and insert a wand into the person’s mouth and down the throat to capture a clearer picture.

The photographs you take provide a significant amount of information to the Cardiologist you work for, but Echocardiographic Technicians are not allowed to interpret the photographs for patients. Instead, your role is to capture clear pictures and keep your patients comfortable.