Your Q4-2024 Association Update: From the Executive Directors Office
October 27, 2024
It is surprising to be writing the final newsletter of the year – 2024 has just flown by!
To close off the year, I wanted to share with you a couple of really fantastic resources available to our members…
After a lot of hard work and preparation, I am thrilled to be able to tell you that our much-anticipated Carotid Ultrasound Course has launched and we are ready to share the Online Learning Modules with you!
This course has been designed for Generalist or Cardiac sonographers who are required to perform carotid exams in their practice, or for those who simply want to enhance their knowledge. It is a self-paced, academic course that covers the basic elements of anatomy, physics, exam protocols, carotid disease, and correlative imaging. In this initial release, participants will have access to video learning modules, case studies, a course moderator for any questions, and more. Upon successful completion of the final course quiz, you will earn 15 sonographies based CPD credits. More information is available on our website or at our booth.
For more information, please click here.
And finally, our SonoCon 2024 conference hosted André Picard as our Keynote Speaker. André Picard is not just a writer; he is a transformative voice in healthcare journalism. His accolades include the prestigious Michener Award for meritorious public service journalism, the Centennial Prize of the Pan-American Health Association, and the 2020 Owen Adams Award of Honour from the Canadian Medical Association. Recently, he was honoured with the 2021 Tribute Award from the Canadian Journalism Foundation for his exceptional impact on the media landscape.
In November 2023; Sonography Canada issued both a member survey and a survey of the Canadian public to find out what everyone thinks about the current climate in Canadian healthcare. While we had an idea of what we were going to see we wanted concrete data to inform our position and back up our thoughts on what everyone is thinking and feeling. Here are some key statistics from the Canadian public:
- Only 40% of Canadians felt that the quality of healthcare in Canada was good or excellent
- 42% of Canadians felt that wait times for diagnostic scans and tests were “terrible”
- 56% of Canadians said they were unfamiliar with what a sonographer does
- When describing for Canadians what a sonographer does, 96% believe the profession was important to the healthcare system
And at the same time, when polling our membership:
- Only 45% of our members said that the quality of healthcare in Canada was good or excellent
- 71% of our members said they were “busy”, 43% said they were “stressed”, 39% said they were “overworked”, 36% said they were “undervalued”, and 30% said they were overwhelmed
- 51% said they had considered leaving their job in the past couple of years, and when probed further, 28% said that they would leave healthcare entirely if they left their current workplace. This is on top of the 11% who said that they would simply retire.
In the Spring, we went out to the sonographer community at large with a general sonographer census survey, where we found that:
- Of full time employed sonographers, 43% are aged 45-65+, with women having a higher proportion in or nearing retirement age
- The majority of sonographers are concerned about being injured – both early and late in their career
- More than 25% of respondents said that vacancy rates are higher than 10% at their sites
On November 18, we will share with our membership a one-time only opportunity to watch André’s presentation – The Human Resources Crisis in Health Care: Causes & Solutions. Registration is NOW open – act fast, as this recording will NOT be added to our Video Library for playback. Webinar Registration – Zoom
