A new organization hopes to boost interest and access for aspiring sonographers looking to get more involved in the field.
The Pennsylvania Association for Sonographers, formed in February 2025, is trying to support sonographers in the Keystone State and surrounding areas through accessible resources, networking opportunities, education, and careers.
“I thought, why doesn’t the ultrasound community have their own society within different states? And I noticed there was nothing really established in Pennsylvania,” said association cofounder and president Brenda McMahon. “I thought it would be nice to have a stepping stone for people wanting to go the professional route.”
McMahon has had more than 14 years of experience as a registered diagnostic medical sonographer after graduating with her bachelor's degree at Mt. Aloysius College in Cresson, PA. She also has six years of experience as a research sonographer at the University of Pittsburgh and is an echocardiography instructor at Mt. Aloysius College.
It was her venture into education and speaking at a Pennsylvania Society of Radiologic Technologists meeting that led her to work on establishing the Pennsylvania Association for Sonographers. The association currently has 20 members.
McMahon also highlighted the challenge that sonographers face with physician burnout. She said that while teaching, she realized that while she was sending graduates off into a good field, it is one that may mentally drain them as technologists face rising imaging volumes and staffing challenges.
“I want to change that. I want people to be happy with their career choices and still find passion in it,” she said.
The Pennsylvania Association for Sonographers aims to bring networking and professional development opportunities closer to home for Pennsylvania sonographers. This will be done by improving access to ultrasound technology and knowledge, fostering a supportive and collaborative community, and promoting lifelong learning, according to the association. It also intends to connect sonographers with career opportunities and create a mentorship program.
Brenda McMahon, cofounder of the Pennsylvania Association for Sonographers, talks about what led her to spearhead the formation of the association, including the threat of physican burnout among sonography professionals.
The association will host two webinars in 2025 and aims to host two conferences in Pennsylvania in 2026. McMahon said she hopes the first webinar, to be hosted in the spring, will be geared toward students and feature participation from ultrasound training programs. This will also include case studies, patient care presentations, and poster competitions. The fall webinar will focus on sonographer wellness, including ways to mitigate stress, compassion fatigue, and burnout.
The association is also reaching out to schools in the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) for membership recruitment and donations. It is also supporting the next generation of sonographers through its scholarship fundraiser.
“Hopefully, we’ll get there,” McMahon said. “So far, I’ve had good feedback from places that they’re interested in getting their students out there.”
More information can be accessed on the association’s site.
![Examples of ultrasound findings and techniques. (A) Images in a 39-year-old male patient with a mass in the left thigh. The mass is heterogeneous on the B-mode US image (compared with the patient in D) and showed increased microvascularity (superb microvascular imaging [SMI]) and shear-wave elastography (SWE) values. Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy (with pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma in surgical specimen). (B) Images in an 18-year-old male patient with a mass in the left leg. The mass is hypoechoic on the B-mode image, with no other findings suggestive of malignancy. The lesion is in contact with the cortex of the tibia, which is slightly irregular. CT revealed a doubtful anteromedial tibial erosion. The microvascular study demonstrated high vascularization, suggestive of malignancy. Periosteal Ewing sarcoma was diagnosed with both histologic and immunohistochemical confirmation. (C) Images in a 69-year-old female patient with a lump growing on the outside of the left leg. Multiple SWE examinations were performed (please note the high values obtained in the measurements, whereas the color map highlights the stiffness relative to adjacent tissues). SMI showed areas of increased vascularization to target for sampling. Undifferentiated spindle cell sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with residual leiomyosarcoma in the surgical specimen after neoadjuvant therapy. (D) Images in a 56-year-old female patient with a mass in the right thigh. The mass is heterogeneous at both B-mode ultrasound (similar to patient A) and MRI (coronal T2-weighted spectral attenuated inversion recovery [SPAIR]; T1-weighted pre-contrast and postcontrast imaging), which even shows uptake after the administration of paramagnetic contrast material, which is traditionally suggestive of malignancy. Low values at SMI and elastography are suggestive of benignity. Spindle cell lipoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with atypical spindle cell lipomatous tumor in the surgical specimen.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/08/images-radiol250278fig2.APCFLSvX6p.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
