Are we happy in our dark silos?

We are so stretched by ever increasing demands on our time and a chronic shortage of sonographers - 18% shortfall across the UK last year.  It is probably higher but the majority of departments did not respond to the SCoR survey – perhaps too busy scanning to be able to dedicate time to anything not immediately pressing?  And that pressure means that not many of us get to meetings where we can exchange ideas. 

Networking.  It is everywhere now, following and commenting are second nature to many of us and the NHS is embracing it.  Sonographers are behind the trend here, there are twitter groups for nurses, doctors, pharmacists, and now we can join in with @WeAHPs 

@WeNurses, @WeDocs, @WePharmacists and others are using Twitter to hold tweetchats – conversations and networking events, generally with a theme held at a prearranged time and usually lasting an hour. @WeAHPs will be holding their first tweet chat on Thursday 26th of March using #WeAHPs

We are a group rightly proud of our clinical competencies but we have lots more to offer.  By networking we can engage with practitioners from other parts of the country, sharing ideas and inspiring each other.  So let’s join in with @WeAHPs on the 26th of March and who knows, maybe the walls of the silos will start to weaken a little?

Where are all the sonographers?

We seem to have a problem in the Sonographer community.  Go to any department, conference and meeting and the same themes crop up over and over again.  Staff working under pressure, increasing numbers of examinations requested, insufficient trainees in the system to replace retiring staff and grow departments.  There are many other themes but this is a good starting point. 

The consensus is that something must be done and clearly there are those attempting to think creatively about the issues.  I wonder how many departments are finding innovative solutions. 

Are there any sonographers out there with ideas for progress in our profession?