Overview

Welcome to the Medical Training Institute of New York Cardiovascular Sonography and Echocardiography Program. The program is a 14-month full-time and 18-month Part-time beginning Summer of the enrollment year and running continuously through the Fall of the following year.

This program is designed to provide clinical training, including hands-on practice, for echocardiographic sonography and an academic curriculum in echocardiographic principles, technology, physics, and instrumentation.

The Cardiovascular Sonography program at the Medical Training Institute of New York is designed to prepare students to perform echocardiographic examinations under the direction of a physician/ cardiologist. Students have the opportunity to gain both didactic knowledge and practical experience in cardiovascular science, EKG, Holter monitoring, telemetry, and echocardiography.

Our goal is to prepare competent entry-level adult cardiac sonographers in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains. We are dedicated to training sonographers who exemplify this standard and degree of excellence. Upon completion of the program, graduates will be eligible to sit for the ARDMS and/or CCI Registry Exams

Our goal is to prepare competent entry-level adult general sonographers in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains. We are dedicated to training sonographers who exemplify this standard and degree of excellence. Upon completion of the program, graduates will be eligible to sit for the ARDMS and/or ARRT Registry Exams.

One of the many advantages of the Medical Training Institute of New York program is that all clinical training is performed at one location. There is a strong collaboration with the didactic and clinical instructors to ensure harmony throughout the program.

The students will have the opportunity to study the anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology of the organ systems, recognize the EKG patterns of infarction, and arrhythmia recognition, appreciate emergency protocols and perform echocardiography. The core curriculum is structured to include an on-campus lecture component, an on-campus imaging laboratory component, and an off-campus integrated clinical component.

The Medical Training Institute of New York Echocardiography Lab offers a variety of educational offerings in conjunction with the school's didactic sessions.

The final externship portion of the curriculum is structured to include supervised experiences in the clinical environment that require competencies, logs, and evaluations completed by the student. At the conclusion of the program, graduates who have diligently attended class and their externship studied and practiced their skills should have the skills to seek entry-level employment as (noninvasive) cardiovascular technologists.

What does a cardiovascular technologist do?

Cardiovascular technologists perform complex procedures, such as inserting a cardiac pacemaker or stents. Their daily responsibilities vary depending on their specialty. For instance, someone specializing in invasive procedures may help a doctor perform a cardiac catheterization. Some common job duties include:

• Cardiovascular technologists and technicians create images and conduct tests involving the heart and lungs.
• Identifying problems in test findings
• Explaining test procedures to patients and answering questions
• Updating patient records
• Reviewing doctor and patient documentation
• Monitoring a patient's heart rate
• Caring for and operating equipment properly
• Administering drugs
• Shaving and cleaning a patient for a procedure
• Positioning a patient
• Monitoring the patient's conditions

The following are examples of types of cardiovascular technologists:

Cardiovascular invasive specialists, also known as cardiac catheterization technologists or cardiovascular technologists, monitor patients’ heart rates and help physicians in diagnosing and treating heart problems. They assist with cardiac catheterization, which involves threading a catheter through a patient’s artery to the heart. They also prepare and monitor patients during open-heart surgery and during the insertion of pacemakers, defibrillators, and stents. Technologists may prepare patients for procedures by shaving and cleansing the area into which the catheter will be inserted and by administering topical anesthesia. During the procedure, they monitor the patient’s blood pressure and heart rate.

• Cardiography or electrocardiogram (EKG) technicians specialize in EKG testing. EKG machines monitor the heart’s performance through electrodes attached to a patient’s chest, arms, and legs. Tests record heart metrics while the patient is at rest or is physically active, such as walking on a treadmill.
• Pulmonary function technologists monitor and test patients’ lungs and breathing. For example, they use a spirometer to measure how much and how fast patients can inhale or exhale. These technologists help physicians in diagnosing and treating problems in the pulmonary system.
• Cardiac sonographers (echocardiographers) specialize in imaging a patient’s heart. They use ultrasound equipment to examine the heart’s chambers, valves, and vessels. An echocardiogram may be performed either while the patient is resting or after the patient has been physically active. Cardiac sonographers also may take echocardiograms of fetal hearts so that physicians can diagnose cardiac conditions during pregnancy.
• Musculoskeletal sonographers specialize in imaging muscles, ligaments, tendons, and joints. These sonographers may assist with ultrasound guidance for injections or during surgical procedures that deliver medication or treatment directly to affected tissues.
• Vascular technologists (vascular sonographers) create images of blood vessels and collect data that help physicians diagnose disorders affecting blood flow. Vascular technologists often evaluate blood flow and identify blocked arteries or blood clots.