Bergen Community College

In response to a growing national need for highly trained sonographers, Bergen Community College has initiated an associate degree program in vascular technology. The College has taken a leading role in the Coalition for Ultrasound Education and Training, helping to secure federal funding for ultrasound training programs across the U.S.A. In addition to Bergen Community College, the Coalition consists of George Washington University, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers, and the Society of Vascular Ultrasound.

“This fast-paced, high-technology health care field affords technologists the opportunity to work closely with both patients and physicians as an important part of a health care team,” says Donna MacMillan Marotti, RDCS, RVT, Project Manager. Vascular
technologists perform a variety of non-invasive testing that does not require the insertion of needles or dyes. The testing provides diagnostic information about the arteries and veins throughout the body.

Students in the vascular technology program receive intense theoretical and clinical instruction in all areas of vascular ultrasound. They also receive instruction in the complementary field of adult echocardiography. Graduates of the program will be eligible to take both the Vascular Technology and Adult Echocardiography exams offered by the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers, and will be qualified for employment in hospitals, operating rooms, clinics, physicians’ offices, and other health care settings. Vascular ultrasound is one of the fastest growing areas in the allied health field.

The program builds on the highly successful diagnostic medical sonography program at Bergen, coordinated by Kathy Benz-Campbell, R.D.M.S.

The classroom laboratory is equipped with two new Acuson Aspens, ultrasound imaging systems; the Nicolet VasoGuard Physiologic System, which measures blood pressures at different parts of the body; and the Quinton Exercise and Resting Electrocardiograph machine, with treadmill, which allows students to learn how to perform various types of stress testing.

The clinical experience is conducted at area hospitals, such as Beth Israel Hospital in Passaic County, Hackensack Medial Center, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Paterson, and Valley Hospital in Ridgewood. An Advisory Committee, comprised of medical doctors, diagnostic medical sonographers, and vascular sonographers, has been meeting regularly to offer suggestions and support for the program and its graduates.

Bergen Community College offers more than a dozen programs in nursing and allied health care, as well as continuing education programs for Registered Nurses. For more information about programs, please call the Welcome Center at 201-447-7200.