MEDICAL SONOGRAPHY
ASSOCIATE'S AND BACHELOR'S DEGREE PROGRAMS
FAQs

Promoting good health today prevents treatment tomorrow

Q. How does KCMA's sonography program differ from other sonography programs?
A. KCMA's sonography program offers study in all areas of ultrasound including abdominal, obstetrical, vascular, and cardiac. Students will gain both classroom and clinical experience in all four areas and be eligible for the national ultrasound registry exams in all areas.

Q. How long does it take to complete the medical sonography program?
A. It takes approximately 3 years to complete the AS degree in medical sonography plus an additional year for the BS degree. There is a list of prerequisite courses to be taken prior to acceptance in the medical sonography program (year 1). These courses include anatomy and physiology, math, physics, English, patient care, and medical terminology. Once accepted into the medical sonography program, it takes six consecutive semesters (2 full academic years).  The bachelor degree of study can be completed in a full-time additional year or part-time (extended years).

Q. Can I attend the program part-time?
A. No. Unfortunately, the program requires the combination of classroom instruction and clinical instruction in each of the sonography specialties to occur at the same time. You will likely be in class two days a week and in clinicals the other three days of the week.

Q. If I am a nurse, radiographer, respiratory therapist or other allied health care provider, do I receive advanced placement in the program?
A. No. However, you may have many of the prerequisite courses already completed in year 1.

Q. When is the application deadline?
A. April 1 of the year in which the student wishes to be accepted. The sonography program admits students only during fall semester.

Q. How many students are accepted each year?
A. Approximately 20. This makes KCMA's program a medium to large-sized sonography program. The number of students depends largely upon the number of clinical rotations available.

Q. Where are the clinical rotations located?
A. The sonography program at KCMA has over 80 ultrasound departments that it utilizes as potential clinical sites. These departments are located in Dayton, Cincinnati, Columbus, Lima, Richmond, Wilmington, and Northern Kentucky.

Q. How far do students have to travel for their clinical rotations?
A. Clinical rotations will be divided equally among all students based on where the student lives, the type of rotation needed, and the experience available in different departments. It is the responsibility of the program Clinical Coordinator to assign clinical rotations for all students. Students must expect to have a few rotations that require some distance to travel (approximately an hour one-way).

Q. Do I need to have cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) completed before entering the program?
A. No. Students will take a CPR class as part of their first clinical sonography course.