Meet Stephanie Ellingson MS, RDMS, RDCS, RVT, RT(R) - Director of the University of Iowa Diagnostic Medical Sonography program
To kick off Ultrasound Awareness month, meet the Director of the University of Iowa’s Diagnostic Program – Stephanie Ellingson. Fun fact, Stephanie has educated over 315 students into becoming Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographers!
What program(s) Steph completed within Radiation Sciences:
Stephanie completed both the Radiology Technology Program and the Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program at the University of Iowa. “I worked in both Radiologic Technology and Diagnostic Medical Sonography while I was continuing my education. At that time the professional programs were not part of an undergraduate degree. After completing my Bachelor’s Degree in Health Care Education I began working part-time as an educator in the Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program while continuing to work as a sonographer. As time passed I began working full-time in education and completed my Master’s Degree in Online Teaching and Learning. I was promoted to Program Director in 1993 and have held that position ever since.”
Stephanie’s reason for picking sonography:
“I was interested in working in health care and wanted a career that included exploring my interests in anatomy, physiology, human pathology and technology. Sonography was a perfect fit as it involves all those areas. Sonography provides new challenges every day and is really an exercise in problem solving for every patient encounter.”
Stephanie’s favorite exam?
“That is a difficult question because I feel like the answer has changed over time. I have worked in all the major imaging areas (abdominal and small parts, breast, OB/G, vascular and cardiac). I’d say my favorite exam is exercise stress echoes. They are an exciting and challenging exam to perform because you need to get the four standard views within 60 seconds after the patient reaches peak heartrate on the treadmill. It pretty exhilarating to have that kind of pressure and get the job done.”
Advice for individuals interested in the sonography field?
“My advice for anyone looking into any field is to job shadow and talk to people doing the job. We are at a difficult time now with COVID-19 and it has limited our ability of offer job shadow visits, so people should look at other resources available online about careers. It’s important to compare and contrast different types of health care careers, there are many different options and they all have different job characteristics or tasks. Think about what YOU like and find a field that matches YOUR interest. If you find the human body amazing, like studying anatomy and physiology, human pathology and problem solving, in addition to caring for patients, then sonography may be the field for you.”