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FAQs Ultrasound Technical Service Training
1. My laptop doesn't meet the requirements. Can I still attend a course?
The laptop specifications are conservative and are minimum requirements. If your laptop does not meet the specification, you should get it upgraded before attending class. Course exercises require the use of a fully functional laptop. If you cannot complete the exercises you cannot achieve a passing grade. Keep in mind that you also need the laptop for servicing Siemens Ultrasound products.
2. I'm registered for a course. Is there anything I should be doing to prepare?
Yes. First, make sure that your laptop meets all the requirements.
Also, please check the Planning Guide [51 KB]and course description to make sure that you meet all pre-requisites for the course. You may need to take another course or do some pre-study first.
We recommend reading the book Diagnostic Ultrasound: Principles and Instruments (Sixth Edition) as pre-study for ultrasound service courses. This book is well illustrated and designed for self study. You can order it from amazon.com or you can order direct from the publishers, W.B. Saunders Company, for about $55. Call 1-800-545-2522 (USA) to place an order. The ISBN is 072169330X.
3. How important are the prerequisites? Can I skip them and just take the product training?
As shown in the Course Planning Guide [51 KB], our training program has a heirarchical structure, from beginner to expert. Courses are developed and delivered with the assumption that all participants have a certain knowledge and skill level at course start. The overall objective of each product course is that, upon completion, participants will be able to perform the required service tasks and successfully support the product in the field. Skipping prerequisites compromises field performance. To receive Certification, all prerequisites must be met.
The pre-study and basic training pre-requisites can be waived only if the engineer has the following competencies:
- Familiar with the basic principles of ultrasound, including color Doppler and spectral Doppler.
- Can self-scan a clinically acceptable abdominal image (liver/kidney) and vascular image (carotid artery).
- Familiar with evaluation criteria for image quality and system performance.
- Has field experience servicing diagnostic ultrasound systems.
4. I'm registered for a course. Shall I proceed with travel arrangements?
Registrations made through Sokrates are registration requests. They do not guarantee a seat in the class.
Classes may be overbooked with some registrations waitlisted. Invitations are sent about six weeks before the class.
You should wait until you receive an invitation before making definite travel arrangements.
5. Where is the Training Center? How do I get there?
For location, maps, and directions, click on the Ultrasound Training Center link from the right-hand menu.
6. Does Siemens provide local transportation?
No. For local transportation we recommend renting a car at the airport. The Issaquah Training
Center is about a 15-minute walk from the Holiday Inn, and local bus service is available. For the Mountain
View Training Center, you will need to use a taxi if you do not have other transportation.
Participants may be able to reduce expenses by sharing a rental car. To see who else is registered, Siemens
service managers can check enrolment in Sokrates. (Click on General and Course Information. Then select Training
Center Issaquah US and the date range you want (European format). Type the Course ID or * and click Execute.)
7. What are the hotel arrangements?
Hotel arrangements are explained on the Ultrasound Training Center page, under Accommodations.
8. What is the dress code at the Training Center?
The Training Center is a business casual environment. Please check the weather forecast for appropriate outside attire. An umbrella may be necessary in Issaquah.
9. How many people in a class?
Class size is minimum four and maximum twelve participants. Classes are kept to this size in order to maintain an optimum engineer/machine/instructor ratio.
10. What if I have to cancel my course reservation?
Your local Siemens service manager can cancel your reservation through Sokrates. See the Registration Information page for cancellation fees that may be incurred if you are already invited.
11. What time does the course end?
Courses that end on a Friday conclude about 3:00 p.m. Courses that end on another day of the week usually conclude about 4:00 p.m. or later. For most product courses, the final sessions include important troubleshooting information that you should not miss. If you plan a return flight on the same day that the course ends, be sure to allow sufficient airport commute and check-in time.
12. I did some ultrasound service work a few years ago. Should I still attend the Image Quality
Fundamentals course before attending product training?
Yes. The Image Quality Fundamentals course would be an excellent refresher. Also, the course presentation
includes the latest developments in ultrasound technology.
13. What is the tuition cost for a customer biomedical engineer?
Tuition fees for Siemens customers worldwide are applied locally and determined by the country
organization. Please check with your local Siemens service manager for the ultrasound service training rate.
The tuition fee is a per-day rate; multiply the daily rate by the number of days in the course.
14. How do I pay for the tuition? Can I bring a check from the hospital to the Training Center
or pre-pay with a credit card?
The Training Center does not process customer tuition payments. To arrange for payment, please contact
the local Siemens service office that registered you for training.
15. Is there an additional charge to customers for diagnostic software for the SONOLINE® Elegra?
No. The tuition fee includes includes all software needed to complete the training, including diagnostic software.
16. I am registered for a course and my travel expenses are covered by Siemens. How is the hotel bill paid?
Each hotel guest is responsible for his or her hotel bill. If Siemens is covering your lodging expenses, you should make arrangements for reimbursement through your hospital administration or through your local Siemens office. Please confirm this before traveling, because there are no provisions for the Training Center to pay any hotel charges. The Training Center guarantees late arrival for your first night's stay, but is not responsible for any no-show charges.
17. I am a biomedical engineer registered for Acuson training—will I receive the necessary service password when I attend the course?
Service passwords are provided for customers who have an Acuson service contract. Biomedical engineers who attend training will not receive a service password if their hospital does not have a current Acuson service contract.
Contact:
If you have a question that is not answered here and cannot be answered by your local Siemens service office, please send e-mail to the Training Center.
Laptop Requirements
Participation in ultrasound service training courses requires the use of a laptop computer equipped with hardware and software as listed below. These are minimum requirements. All the software programs should be installed and running before the course and participants should be familiar with the basics of their use.
Hardware:
- Pentium processor.
- 32MB RAM minimum
- 100 MB hard disk space free after installing all software below
- 3.5" high-density floppy disk drive
- 4x CD-ROM drive
- 800 x 600 color display (or higher)
- Windows-compatible mouse or pointing device
- Serial port* configurable to 19.2K baud (in addition to mouse or pointing device port)
- For Issaquah and Mountain View: 115-V power adapter and cord with USA plug
- For Erlangen: 230-V power adapter and cord with Germany plug
- Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME (for SONOLINE® Elegra**), or NT/2000/XP
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Excel 5.0 (or higher)
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 (or higher)
* If your laptop has USB ports only, you will need a USB-to-serial-port adapter in order to service the SONOLINE® Elegra.
** SONOLINE® Elegra diagnostics do not support Windows NT/2000/XP.
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