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Diagnostic Medical Sonographer resume example

A resume for a Diagnostic Medical Sonographer needs to show the work itself: produce ultrasonic recordings of internal organs for use by physicians. Day to day that means work like this: observe screen during scan to ensure that image produced is satisfactory for diagnostic purposes, making adjustments to equipment as required; observe and care for patients throughout examinations to ensure their safety and comfort. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

  • Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer
  • RDMS
  • Sonographer
  • Ultrasonographer
  • Cardiac Sonographer
  • Medical Sonographer
  • Staff Sonographer
  • Ultrasound Technician
  • Ultrasound Tech
  • Ultrasound Technologist
  • Echo Sonographer
  • Echo Tech
  • Vascular Ultrasound Tech
  • Cardiovascular Sonographer
  • Echocardiograph Sonographer
  • Echocardiographic Technician
  • Echocardiogram Technician
  • Echocardiographer

O*NET records 34 titles for this occupation in total.

What people in this job call themselves

Titles reported by people actually doing this work, which is often not the title on the job posting.

  • Diagnostic Medical Sonographer
  • Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer (RDMS)
  • Ultrasound Technician (Ultrasound Tech)
  • Ultrasound Technologist (Ultrasound Tech)

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

  • Observe screen during scan to ensure that image produced is satisfactory for diagnostic purposes, making adjustments to equipment as required.
  • Observe and care for patients throughout examinations to ensure their safety and comfort.
  • Provide sonogram and oral or written summary of technical findings to physician for use in medical diagnosis.
  • Select appropriate equipment settings and adjust patient positions to obtain the best sites and angles.
  • Operate ultrasound equipment to produce and record images of the motion, shape, and composition of blood, organs, tissues, or bodily masses, such as fluid accumulations.
  • Decide which images to include, looking for differences between healthy and pathological areas.
  • Prepare patient for exam by explaining procedure, transferring patient to ultrasound table, scrubbing skin and applying gel, and positioning patient properly.
  • Determine whether scope of exam should be extended, based on findings.
  • Obtain and record accurate patient history, including prior test results or information from physical examinations.
  • Maintain records that include patient information, sonographs and interpretations, files of correspondence, publications and regulations, or quality assurance records, such as pathology, biopsy, or post-operative reports.
  • Record and store suitable images, using camera unit connected to the ultrasound equipment.
  • Coordinate work with physicians or other healthcare team members, including providing assistance during invasive procedures.

20 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

  • Observe screen during scan to ensure that image produced is satisfactory for diagnostic purposes, making adjustments to equipment as required, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Observe and care for patients throughout examinations to ensure their safety and comfort, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Provide sonogram and oral or written summary of technical findings to physician for use in medical diagnosis, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Select appropriate equipment settings and adjust patient positions to obtain the best sites and angles, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

  • Calendar and scheduling software
  • Database software
  • eClinicalWorks EHR software
  • Email software
  • Medical procedure coding software
  • MEDITECH software
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Patient medical record software
  • Spreadsheet software
  • Word processing software

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

  • 3D sonography equipment
  • A-Mode ultrasound machines
  • Cardiac ultrasound equipment
  • Color Doppler ultrasound equipment
  • Continuous-wave ultrasound equipment
  • Desktop computers
  • Evacuated blood collection tubes
  • High frequency transducers
  • Immobilization and positioning devices
  • Intravenous IV supplies
  • Lancets
  • Lead barriers

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

  1. 01Active Listening
  2. 02Reading Comprehension
  3. 03Social Perceptiveness
  4. 04Speaking
  5. 05Critical Thinking
  6. 06Monitoring
  7. 07Active Learning
  8. 08Time Management
  9. 09Coordination
  10. 10Science

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

  • Customer and Personal Service
  • English Language
  • Physics
  • Medicine and Dentistry
  • Administrative
  • Computers and Electronics
  • Psychology
  • Education and Training

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

  • 47%Associate's Degree
  • 19%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school
  • 17%Bachelor's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Diagnostic Medical Sonographer do?
Produce ultrasonic recordings of internal organs for use by physicians. Day to day that includes work like observe screen during scan to ensure that image produced is satisfactory for diagnostic purposes, making adjustments to equipment as required and Observe and care for patients throughout examinations to ensure their safety and comfort.
What skills should a Diagnostic Medical Sonographer put on a resume?
O*NET rates Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Social Perceptiveness, Speaking, and Critical Thinking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Diagnostic Medical Sonographer list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes Calendar and scheduling software, Database software, eClinicalWorks EHR software, Email software, and Medical procedure coding software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Diagnostic Medical Sonographer work?
O*NET records 34 titles for this occupation, including Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer, RDMS, Sonographer, and Ultrasonographer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Diagnostic Medical Sonographer need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 47% reported their level of education as "Associate's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Diagnostic Medical Sonographer role?
No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

  • No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
  • This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
  • Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.