ACC DCVS Program Reaccredited

 In Healthcare Careers

When medical providers sift through a list of potential job candidates, it is vital that those candidates graduate from quality programs.

The Alvin Community College Diagnostic Cardiovascular Sonography adult and pediatric programs recently had its accreditation reaffirmed which ensures that students in the program are receiving a quality education.

“This reaccreditation means that the ACC DCVS program is upholding the standards when compared to other college sonography programs within the United States,” said Suzanne Poston, interim DCVS program director. “By successfully passing the accreditation status, the Alvin Community College DCVS program upholds the highest teaching standards for potential students who scan our community members.”

The program was accredited for the next five years by the Commission of Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). The accreditation will last five years.

“The Adult echo and Vascular program was first accredited in 2003,” Poston said. “They were the first accredited schools in the state of Texas. The pediatric echocardiography program was first accredited in 2013 and was also one of the first accredited programs in the United States and Texas.”

The accreditation reaffirmation process includes a thorough review of the programs that includes the number of graduates, job placement rates, attrition and more. The process also requires a site visit from CAAHEP officials.

“The request for reconsideration of the program to be accredited means that our program is open to review of the curriculum, as well as outcomes of the students and graduates,” Poston said.

Having accreditation is a mark of approval for potential employers that ACC graduates are qualified, she said.

“Programmatic Accreditation means that our school has met certain requirements and standards for instruction of sonography,” she said. “The students need to graduate from an accredited program so that they will be able to work for a medical provider (which requires to be a graduate in an accredited program). It is also a requirement for students who wish to take the registry exam when they graduate.”

For more information about the DCVS program or to volunteer for a free heart or artery scan, visit www.alvincollege.edu/DCVS.

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