Joliet Junior College's sonography program achieves national accreditation

JOLIET – Joliet Junior College's diagnostic medical sonography program has achieved national accreditation and is now one of only six Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) accredited sonography programs in Illinois with general concentration.

For sonography students, that is the first step in obtaining the DMS license, with the next step being to pass a specialty examination of their choice.

Employment opportunities for these graduates are generally found in hospitals, outpatient medical centers, imaging centers and doctors’ offices. In addition, career advancement opportunities exist in education, administration, research and in commercial companies as education or application specialists, sales representatives, technical advisors, etc.

There are many benefits of enrolling in JJC’s CAAHEP-accredited sonography program. For example, students are qualified to sit for the Abdomen and Obstetrics/Gynecology specialty examinations given by the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (ARDMS) 60 days prior to successful completion of the program. This allows students to become registered or licensed diagnostic medical sonographers the same day they graduate, which is mid-December.

Another great benefit of being a CAAHEP-accredited sonography program is that students no longer have to possess a prior degree before applying to the AAS program. As of this year, the JJC DMS AAS program is open to all qualified students (prior to accreditation, the AAS program was only open to those with a bachelor’s degree).

For the most up-to-date information about the Diagnostic Medical Sonography program at JJC and more detailed admissions criteria, visit www.jjc.edu/info/dms or contact Elena Miller, Sonography Program Coordinator, at emiller@jjc.edu or (815) 280-2588.