University in Perth tackles shortage of sonographers in Western Australia

A new program at Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth is aiming to tackle an ongoing shortage of sonographers in Western Australia. The specialized medical sonography course is the first of its kind in the state, but the industry remains worried about the current gap in workforce numbers, which is expected to increase. Students take part in the new medical sonography course created at Edith Cowan University and no time is wasted to get them industry-ready. “I like how hands-on it is, like, even straight off the bat from first year we get to, like, start practicing and doing, like, actual practical hands-on work,” says student Sage Matys. The course lasts four years and provides accreditation. It started in 2024 aiming to increase the number of people working in the industry. According to Edith Cowan University, Western Australia would ideally need 30 to 35 sonographers every year just to meet demand, but it’s far from the case. This lack of sonographers is something the industry has warned about for many years. “There were over 11 million Medicare-funded ultrasound services last year and that's been growing in demand at around seven percent year on year for the last decade. And the workforce just hasn't been keeping up,” says Tony Coles of the Australasian Sonographers Association. Shani Watts is a senior lecturer at ECU and she also works for BreastScreen WA. Watts is worried about patients not being able to be attended to straight away and says it can sometimes take up to three weeks for a patient to get a breast ultrasound. She says other scans, like for knees, can take up to two months. “It's unacceptable really for some of the wait times that people have to be waiting, particularly if you've got something that you're particularly worried about, for instance, with breast screen if you've got a concern about a lump, you want something done fairly soon.” The Federal Government stated it is actively working to resolve workforce shortages in the allied health sector. ECU hopes its new course will help meet the state's demand starting in 2028. This article was provided by The Associated Press.