Licensure for traveling sonographers

8/2021 Has opened many traveling opportunities despite the current situation with Covid, facilities are short staffed, many sonographers have either retired or taken perm positions or moved onto other careers, so if you have always wanted to take the leap perhaps this is your chance to jump in !

Currently, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Oregon are the only states with approved legislation mandating the licensure of sonographers. If you are considering traveling to any of the states mentioned, get prepared to get your licence, it takes filling out documents and paying some fees. Ask your recruiter to help pay for those fees if you are being asked to go there.

New Hampshire

There is now an application for licensure on the Board’s website https://www.oplc.nh.gov/medical-imaging/forms.htm - The application/license fee is $110 for two years. Note that answering “yes” to any of the questions, requires the applicant to submit an explanation. Also note that the application must be notarized before submission (signed in presence of a notary) before submission.

New Mexico

Sonographers working in New Mexico should obtain a license from the State of New Mexico. Currently enrolled ​sonography students and federal employees who perform sonography as part of their employment at a federal facility are exempt from state licensure.]

For more information, contact the NM En​vironment Department, Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Program.

North Dakota

North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple signed a licensure bill (SB 2236) into law that sets licensing standards and expands the responsibilities of the state’s sonographers, nuclear medicine technologists, radiation therapists, radiographers, and radiologist assistants.

The law also enables sonographers to take verbal orders from physicians and other healthcare practitioners and enter them into the patient’s electronic health record.

A nine-member State Board of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy will oversee licensure requirements, grant licenses, and handle disciplinary actions.

For more information, contact the North Dakota ​Medical ​Imaging and ​Radiation ​Therapy ​Board of ​Examiners.

Oregon

The sonographer licensure law requires Oregon sonographers to become licensed by OBMI. All sonography licensees would be required to hold a national sonography certification/credential (or be currently enrolled as a student). For more information, contact the Oregon Board of Medical Imaging (OBMI).