Breast Sonography

Breast Sonography Training

Continuing Education Course Overview

The Breast Sonography continuing education course offers current sonographers an opportunity to specialize in breast sonography. This program prepares participants to earn the Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonography (RDMS) credential with a Breast (BR) specialty, expanding their expertise and career opportunities.

Breast sonographers are essential healthcare professionals who specialize in using ultrasound imaging to detect and diagnose breast conditions, including breast cancer. Their responsibilities include producing high-quality images of breast tissue, assisting breast imaging procedures such as biopsies and cyst aspirations, interpreting imaging results, and providing essential information to radiologists for accurate diagnoses and patient care.

Course Content

This Breast Sonography course provides comprehensive training in breast imaging, emphasizing a thorough understanding of both normal and abnormal breast anatomy, age-related and hormone-induced changes, and sonographic features of benign and malignant conditions.

Patient care and assessment skills are integral components of this program, including training on conducting detailed patient histories, identifying risk factors, correlating findings with mammography and breast ultrasound diagnostic procedures, and identifying the mammographic and ultrasonic characteristics of specific benign and malignant lesions.

Participants will learn breast sonography protocols and techniques, including adherence to American College of Radiology (ACR) guidelines, imaging protocols, scanning planes, caliper placement, and positioning. The course also covers interventional procedures, equipping participants with skills in performing biopsies and cyst aspirations.

Additionally, the curriculum reviews ultrasound physics and instrumentation basics and introduces emerging imaging technologies like elastography, automated whole-breast ultrasound, 3D imaging, and brachytherapy. Certification preparation includes practice exams and strategies tailored to the ARDMS Breast specialty exam.

Course Length

Breast Sonography CE Course

• 6 weeks
• 36 hours of online, synchronous lectures
  • 30 hours of training
  • 6 hours of ARDMS exam prep

Breast Sonography CE Course + Clinical Internship

• 10 weeks
• 136 clock hours
  • 36 hours of online, synchronous lectures
    • 30 hours of training
    • 6 hours of ARDMS exam prep
  • 100 clinical hours

Breast Sonography Course Format

The 6-week Breast Sonography CE course is structured as a fully online course. Online, synchronous classes are held two evenings per week for six weeks. Students will participate in 6 hours of weekly lectures.

Students who choose to do the 100-hour clinical internship will begin their clinical hours after completing the initial 6-week course. The internship schedule will be 25 hours per week for a total of 4 weeks.

Clinical Experience

For participants who plan to sit for the ARDMS Breast (BR) specialty exam, and cannot perform breast exams at their current facility, a clinical internship option is available to fulfill the ARDMS clinical requirements.

A 100-hour clinical internship will provide supervised, hands-on experience with real patients. Students will be able to complete the minimum core clinical skills required for the Breast specialty exam. 

Course Goals/Objectives

Upon completing this program, participants will:

• Understand the principles of ultrasound physics as applied to breast sonography.
• Demonstrate effective use of breast ultrasound equipment for high-quality imaging.
• Recognize and interpret normal and abnormal breast tissue patterns during imaging.
• Apply knowledge of the latest technological advancements in breast imaging.

ARDMS Certification Exam in Breast (BR) Specialty

This course prepares participants for the Breast specialty exam offered by the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS).

Lecture Only (No Clinical Hours)

Students who are currently employed at a facility that allows them to practice breast imaging may choose to enroll in the course without clinical hours. In order to sit for the ARDMS Breast specialty exam, the student must submit the Breast (BR) Clinical Verification (CV) Form signed by a sponsoring sonographer or a reporting physician at their facility.

Full Course with Clinical Hours

Students who complete the Breast Sonography CE course with the clinical internship will be eligible to sit for the ARDMS Breast specialty exam. The minimum core clinical skills must be completed during the 100-hour clinical internship.