High placement rates in the Echocardiography program at Ogeechee Technical College (OTC) are due in part to a recently acquired cardiac ultrasound simulator that allows students to work and assess real world scenarios in the classroom.
“Our new CAE Vimedix cardiac ultrasound training mannequin demonstrates several different scenarios to help students visualize the pathology in real time in a controlled environment, instead of in a chaotic hospital setting,” said Capre Mitchell, an instructor for the Echocardiography program. “They are able to take their time and make the measurements that are needed and repeat them again and again. Perhaps the biggest selling point is that some of those pathologies would not normally be encountered by a student until they graduate.”
Quality technology and training in the Echocardiography program has significantly influenced the 100% job placement and 100% credentialing rate they have achieved since 2018. Graduates exiting the 18-month program are seeing average starting salaries of around $55,000 a year and are working all over the country. The demand for Echocardiography graduates continues to grow.
Paul Barkley, Chief Operating Officer at Navicent Health Baldwin, has looked to the Technical College System of Georgia to fill positions of need throughout the pandemic. “Our hospital, and others across the state, are in demand for cardiac sonographers. We often turn schools like Ogeechee Tech for their graduates because I know they are well trained, have a great work ethic, and have valuable classroom experience with a wide array of pathologies.”
Echocardiography not only graduates students into a wide variety of placements, but it attracts students of all backgrounds. “We have graduates that came to us through dual enrollment, a former gymnast who is now performing echoes at Duke, students that have recently earned their GED, as well as others in their 30’s or 40’s who wanted a career change. No matter your background, the support and education students receive here at OTC sets them up for success in hospitals and medical centers across the country, we even have a few former students who are working as traveling cardiac sonographers,” said Mitchell.
