How to become a sonographer: Hassan's story

Hiya. My name's Hassan and I'm a sonographer.

(to patient) So I'm going to be looking at the arteries in your neck today. We're going to start off with the right side and then we're going to look at the left, okay?

My job as a sonographer is to use sound waves to aid in the diagnosis of medical conditions. In sonography, every single day is different, no day's the same. Now, everyone assumes ultrasound is based on baby scans, pregnancies. However, that's not always the case, we have many different specialisms that we can all branch into. Me personally, I might scan anything to do with the general abdomen, gynae and I do vascular as well.

(to patient) So if you just look towards that way, that way. So you're just gonna feel a bit cold there.

I usually aid in the diagnosis of acutely unwell patients, patients who are waiting for surgical treatment, help diagnose things such as gall stones, kidney stones and more serious illnesses. I work with our radiology assistant but I also work really closely with the admin staff, doctors, nurses, consultant radiologists, we are part of a multi-disciplinary team and we all worked really really well, hand in hand together.

Sonography is a very rewarding career, every patient is different, everyone has a story, knowing that you've actually made a difference to someone's life is the ultimate career satisfaction and goal.

(to patient) There is no plaque in there whatsoever.

Patient:

That's good.

Hassan:

Breaking bad news is definitely a challenge, but put yourself in the patient's shoes and understanding exactly what they're going through, you will know how to deal with it a lot better, and that is one of the biggest challenges within this role.

I went to the Careers Fair in year 9 and it was originally pharmacy that I was interested in. I did my GCSEs and went on to college education, and I was working in the pharmacy part-time while pursuing my A-levels. I then realised eventually A-levels weren't for me and the actual career choice I had chosen wasn't for me either.

Therefore, I chose something a bit more practical and ended up doing a BTEC in Applied Science, from there I got on to my BSC Diagnostic Radiography degree.

However, it was ultrasound that actually interested me and enticed me the most, which then stemmed into my overall master's Science qualification in Ultrasound. Through this course, I trained in the hospital that I'm working in now and obviously they offered me a job after the two-year programme.

I had my clinical assessment, which is what you do to officially scan by yourself and I also had my interview for the job on the same day and they were practically one hour apart so stress levels were quite high. However, when I did get told that I did get the job, I was literally jumping for joy.

Phillipa, employer:

Hasan was a very natural sonographer, loved his placements, worked very passionately within our team and we were happy to employ him at the end of his training.

Hassan:

So even though I didn't pursue pharmacy as a career, what I gained from there was valuable work experience and valuable work references.

Phillipa, employer:

References are the key to any job, get out what you put in, give it your all and you're likely to get a job at the end of it.

Hassan:

My top tip is work hard, find the path that suits your skills and abilities and have as much fun as you can in the meantime as well.