Top 12 Ultrasound Technician Skills to Put on Your Resume

In the competitive field of diagnostic medical sonography, a sharp, convincing resume makes a real difference. Ultrasound technicians who blend technical mastery, safe patient care, and calm communication tend to stand out. Choosing the right skills to emphasize—clearly, confidently—can tilt the decision in your favor.

Ultrasound Technician Skills

1. Sonography
2. ARDMS-certified
3. Anatomy
4. Physiology
5. PACS
6. Doppler
7. Echocardiography
8. Obstetric ultrasound
9. Vascular sonography
10. 3D/4D ultrasound
11. HIPAA compliance
12. Radiology

1. Sonography

Sonography uses high-frequency sound waves to generate real-time images of internal anatomy. An ultrasound technician relies on it to assess structures, spot pathology, and guide care without a single incision.

Why It's Important

It allows noninvasive visualization of organs, vessels, and soft tissue. That means safer diagnostics, quicker decisions, and better monitoring across many clinical settings.

How to Improve Sonography Skills

Improving sonography blends technical polish with people skills.

1. Keep learning: Pursue continuing education, master new modalities, and review current practice guidelines.

2. Practice with intention: Scan varied cases and anatomies. Repetition builds speed; targeted practice builds precision.

3. Know your machine: Explore presets, probes, and advanced features. Tweak depth, focus, gain, and harmonics for clean images.

4. Guide the patient: Clear instructions, steady positioning, and comfort checks reduce motion and improve image quality.

5. Quality control: Perform routine checks and participate in QA to keep image quality and equipment performance consistent.

6. Peer review: Share challenging cases, compare technique, and adjust based on feedback.

Small technical refinements, over and over, add up to sharper diagnostics.

How to Display Sonography Skills on Your Resume

2. ARDMS-certified

ARDMS certification signals that you have met nationally recognized standards in sonography via rigorous exams and ongoing maintenance.

Why It's Important

It verifies competence, supports employer requirements, and reassures patients and providers that your skills meet a high bar.

How to Improve ARDMS-certified Skills

1. Maintain CME: Keep up with required continuing education and use it to deepen specialty knowledge.

2. Broaden experience: Seek rotations in different clinical areas; varied pathology sharpens your eye.

3. Network and mentor: Learn from seasoned sonographers; offer and seek feedback.

4. Add specialties: Consider credentials such as RVT, RDCS, or RMSKS if relevant to your role.

5. Exam refreshers: Periodically review exam-style content to reinforce fundamentals.

How to Display ARDMS-certified Skills on Your Resume

3. Anatomy

Anatomy is the map. Understanding structures and spatial relationships lets you find targets quickly and avoid mistaking artifacts for disease.

Why It's Important

Accurate identification underpins every measurement, every label, every impression. Without it, interpretation drifts.

How to Improve Anatomy Skills

1. Structured study: Work through anatomy texts geared to imaging and sonography.

2. Scan-to-cadaver correlation: Compare ultrasound appearances with cross-sectional anatomy references to cement 3D understanding.

3. Case libraries: Review normal variants and pathology galleries to train pattern recognition.

4. Quizzing: Use flashcards and self-tests to keep landmarks and vessel branches fresh.

5. Teach to learn: Explaining anatomy to peers or students clarifies your own mental models.

How to Display Anatomy Skills on Your Resume

4. Physiology

Physiology explains how organs and systems function—what “normal” looks like in motion and over time, and when that normal goes sideways.

Why It's Important

Image findings make sense only when paired with how tissues behave. Flow, perfusion, contractility, pressure changes—these connect pictures to patients.

How to Improve Physiology Skills

1. Targeted coursework: Focus on cardiovascular, abdominal, and obstetric physiology fundamentals tied to ultrasound.

2. Visualization tools: Use interactive apps and diagrams to link function to imaging signs.

3. Video learning: Watch short explainers of complex processes (valvular hemodynamics, fetal circulation) and then scan with purpose.

4. Journal digests: Skim summaries of new research to see how physiology informs protocols.

5. Sim and practice: Apply concepts during scanning—adjust settings to highlight the physiologic feature you’re evaluating.

How to Display Physiology Skills on Your Resume

5. PACS

PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) stores, retrieves, and routes images and reports. It’s the backbone of image flow.

Why It's Important

Fast, reliable PACS means radiologists see your studies quickly, comparisons are at hand, and care teams get answers without delay.

How to Improve PACS Skills

1. Standardize DICOM: Confirm devices are configured correctly so studies route and label cleanly.

2. Optimize image acquisition: Better inputs mean better outputs—reduce repeats with proper presets and patient prep.

3. Work with IT: Flag network or workstation bottlenecks; advocate for bandwidth where it matters.

4. Clean metadata: Verify patient, laterality, and study descriptors before send—small errors ripple.

5. User training: Share quick tips for annotations, key images, and hanging protocols to streamline reading.

6. Feedback loop: Ask readers what helps them most, then bake that into your routine.

How to Display PACS Skills on Your Resume

6. Doppler

Doppler ultrasound measures frequency shifts from moving reflectors—most often blood cells—so you can evaluate flow direction, velocity, and character.

Why It's Important

It unlocks hemodynamics: stenosis, insufficiency, shunts, fetal well-being. Numbers and waveforms that guide decisions.

How to Improve Doppler Skills

1. Angle discipline: Keep the insonation angle at or below 60 degrees and use angle correction aligned with flow.

2. Pick the right probe: High frequency for superficial vessels; lower frequency for depth.

3. Tune the settings: Adjust PRF/scale, gain, and wall filter to avoid aliasing and noise while preserving detail.

4. Color before spectral: Use color to find the vessel, flow direction, and turbulence, then place the sample volume precisely.

5. Gate size and placement: Center within the lumen and size to the vessel—no larger than needed.

6. Repeatability: Reproduce measurements and document site, angle, and technique for consistent follow-up.

How to Display Doppler Skills on Your Resume

7. Echocardiography

Echocardiography uses ultrasound to evaluate cardiac structure and function—chambers, valves, pericardium, and flow.

Why It's Important

It’s central to diagnosing heart disease, guiding therapy, and assessing response—noninvasively, at the bedside or lab.

How to Improve Echocardiography Skills

1. Master the views: Nail parasternal, apical, subcostal, and suprasternal windows with consistent image orientation.

2. Quantify well: Standardize measurements (LV volumes, EF methods, valve gradients) and document settings.

3. Hands-on labs: Practice on varied body types and pathologies; replicate standardized protocols.

4. Pursue credentials: Advanced certifications reinforce knowledge and signal proficiency.

5. Leverage technology: Use harmonics, speckle tracking (if available), and optimized presets for cleaner images.

6. Patient positioning: Small adjustments—left lateral decubitus, breath holds—unlock better windows.

How to Display Echocardiography Skills on Your Resume

8. Obstetric ultrasound

Obstetric ultrasound assesses the fetus, placenta, uterus, and amniotic fluid to support prenatal screening, dating, growth tracking, and anomaly evaluation.

Why It's Important

It helps ensure maternal and fetal well-being, catching concerns early and guiding safe care through pregnancy.

How to Improve Obstetric ultrasound Skills

1. Follow standardized protocols: Apply first-, second-, and third-trimester checklists to avoid omissions.

2. Image quality first: Optimize depth, focus, and gain; use harmonics and proper probes for gestational age.

3. Biometry precision: Place calipers exactly and repeat questionable measures; document fetal position and presentation.

4. Placental and cervix assessment: Use appropriate technique for placental location and cervical length when indicated.

5. Patient communication: Explain the process, manage expectations, and ensure privacy and comfort.

6. Stay current: Update skills as screening recommendations and measurement standards evolve.

How to Display Obstetric ultrasound Skills on Your Resume

9. Vascular sonography

Vascular sonography visualizes arteries and veins to evaluate structure and flow—stenosis, occlusion, reflux, thrombosis.

Why It's Important

It guides urgent and long-term care for PAD, DVT, carotid disease, dialysis access, and more—without contrast or radiation.

How to Improve Vascular sonography Skills

1. Protocol consistency: Standardize segment coverage, measurements, and Doppler angles across exams.

2. Settings that fit: Adjust frequency, depth, and dynamic range for vessel depth and patient habitus.

3. Compression technique: For venous studies, use systematic compression with appropriate pressure and spacing.

4. Hemodynamic reasoning: Interpret waveforms in context—proximal vs distal disease, collateralization, inflow/outflow issues.

5. Credential growth: Consider vascular-focused certification (e.g., RVT) to refine and validate skills.

How to Display Vascular sonography Skills on Your Resume

10. 3D/4D ultrasound

3D ultrasound captures volumetric datasets; 4D adds real-time motion. Together they enhance surface and structural visualization and can support select diagnostic questions and patient understanding.

Why It's Important

When indicated, it can clarify anatomy, improve communication, and complement standard 2D imaging. Not a replacement—an enhancer.

How to Improve 3D/4D ultrasound Skills

1. Machine mastery: Learn volume acquisition, rendering, and post-processing tools thoroughly.

2. Optimize acquisition: Stabilize the probe, minimize motion, and select appropriate sweep angles and volume rates.

3. Preset tuning: Adjust depth, focus zones, and gain before volume capture for cleaner renders.

4. Patient preparation: Position for comfort and stillness; coach breath holds when appropriate.

5. Use judiciously: Apply 3D/4D where it adds value to diagnosis or documentation; keep ALARA in mind.

6. Review and refine: Compare renders with 2D findings and repeat volumes if artifacts obscure detail.

How to Display 3D/4D ultrasound Skills on Your Resume

11. HIPAA compliance

HIPAA compliance means protecting patient health information—confidentiality, integrity, availability—through every step of ultrasound workflow.

Why It's Important

It preserves patient trust and meets legal requirements. Privacy isn’t optional; it’s core to care.

How to Improve HIPAA compliance Skills

1. Know the rules: Understand Privacy and Security requirements and how they apply to imaging.

2. Safeguard PHI: Use secure logins, lock screens, control access, and store records properly.

3. Minimum necessary: Share only what’s needed for care or operations—nothing more.

4. Train regularly: Refresh on policies, phishing awareness, and device handling.

5. Clear policies: Follow written procedures for image sharing, patient requests, and authorizations.

6. Report promptly: Escalate any suspected breach immediately according to protocol.

7. Support patient rights: Facilitate access, corrections, and privacy preferences.

How to Display HIPAA compliance Skills on Your Resume

12. Radiology

Radiology encompasses medical imaging—including ultrasound—to diagnose and guide treatment. Sonographers generate the studies that inform radiologic interpretation.

Why It's Important

High-quality images and precise documentation support accurate reads, safer interventions, and clearer care plans.

How to Improve Radiology Skills

1. Sharpen technique: Consistency in protocols, labeling, and measurements reduces errors and speeds reads.

2. Adopt new tools: Learn advanced features like elastography when available; know when they help.

3. Patient-first approach: Comfort, positioning, and communication often determine whether a tough exam succeeds.

4. Continuing education: Conferences, workshops, and case reviews keep practice aligned with current standards.

How to Display Radiology Skills on Your Resume