NWSCC diagnostic medical sonography program receives accreditation

The Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) recently notified Northwest Shoals Community College (NWSCC) that the Diagnostic Medical Sonography (DMS) Program has been awarded initial accreditation.

NWSCC offers a DMS program that covers abdomen and obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN) in the associate degree program. The DMS program accepted its first cohort of eight students in fall of 2019 and, in 2022, the program began accepting 12 students annually. According to DMS program director Terri Christian, 11 students graduated from the program in May with 100 percent of them accepting jobs as sonographers.

“The DMS team did an extraordinary job preparing and earning their initial accreditation,” explained John McIntosh, Dean of Workforce Development, Institutional Effectiveness and Advancement. “The CAAHEP accreditation process is very rigorous. This is truly a testament to the jobs Terri (DMS Director) and Stacy (DMS Instructor) do every day in preparing our students to be very successful sonographers in workforce.”

In a letter to NWSCC President Dr. Jeff Goodwin, CAAHEP stated “The commission recognizes your organization’s commitment to continuous quality improvement in health professions education, as demonstrated by your participation in CAAHEP programmatic accreditation.”

The next evaluation of the program is scheduled to occur no later than 2029.