Hello! I also agree that the individual who can actually cross-train between two ultrasound specialties is rare. The individual areas of ultrasound are diverging and to be current in the individual fields is getting to be quite a challenge. The skilled sonographer can do a normal patient, but subtle pathology is another thing. Tim Oltman RVT Memorial Medical Center Don Ridgway wrote: > I would like to add my vote for people who are good at what they do, and > are allowed to keep doing it. My impression is that there are still many > labs which want good vascular techs, period, and I'm grateful that I'm in > one of those. I feel in all modesty that I'm a fairly intelligent sort of > person, and I have my hands pretty full just being good at one specialty. > I've seen many folks cross-train, and it takes a very sharp (and very very > energetic) tech to do it well. > > I've seen a few articles on the phenomenon Barton referred to: that > specialists get quite good at something (e.g., a particular surgery). > Imagine that. I think there may be some general movement toward recognizing > the effectiveness of encouraging specialization. I hope so. I'm the > beneficiary of this kind of specialization--a pair of surgeons who have > made a specialty of acoustic neuroma surgery and know what works. I'm > grateful. > > Finally, I will raise this unpleasant possibility, because I've seen it > more than once: Radiology departments may want to take over a vascular lab > because of--pardon my French--money. Our labs are often pretty good > money-makers for whatever department has them, and I think it must look > pretty tempting. Radiology departments tend to be politically powerful, and > to get pretty much what they want. I'm sorry if this seems divisive, but as > I say, I've seen it happen; turf battles are a nasty reality at some > hospitals. > > May we endure as a distinct specialty; I like it that way, and I think it's > best for our patients. > > Don Ridgway > Grossmont Hospital