Daryan Garcia, B.S, RVT, RDMS

My name is Daryan Garcia, I am 25 years old. I was born in Camagüey, Cuba, I lived in Calabria, Italy for five years before I came to the United States at 13 years old. I’m very passionate about my roots and the path I’ve taken to become the person I am today.

I can assure you it hasn’t been easy, but if I can do it, I’m 110% sure that you will be able to do it as well. I have been a Sonographer for three years now. Luckily, I have been able to achieve quite a bit professionally in this short period of time.

I hope you all enjoy my story, and it motivates you to jump into this beautiful and rewarding profession.

What do you like most about working as a DMS?

The huge impact we make on patient’s lives on a daily basis. The quality of our work truly determines the patient’s diagnosis and treatment plan, hence, it can’t be taken lightly.

Tell us more about Sonography101.com? What inspired you to start the site and share your knowledge?

I began Sonography101 when I was in clinical rotations, it actually started as “Student Sonographer” I was simply sharing some educational tips or tricks that I was learning throughout my path. Approximately a year after I graduated I decided to post more frequently and take the platform to the next level, that’s when it became Sonography101. My goal with this platform is to not only share educational content, but coaching services as well, where we can guide our followers every step of the way from the moment they start considering this profession. We currently provide resume revision services, interview preparation sessions, and vascular registry preparation webinars. We are diligently working on implementing many more services that we know our followers will take huge advantage of. Recently, I partnered up with Ultrasound MedAcademy, and it has truly been a pleasure working alongside Alain to provide my followers with as much valuable content as possible.

Tell us more about founding CLOVER Diagnostics, and your work there?

My business partner, Beatriz Rodriguez and I began this adventure in March of this year. We started this business with the goal to make diagnostic ultrasounds more accessible and affordable to the community of Palm Beach County. We provide our services in a variety of settings: in office, in home, and in physician offices as well. We are both truly passionate about our profession and providing the most optimal imaging possible to our clients.

What makes working as a Sonographer in Florida rewarding for you?

Luckily, I have had the opportunity to work in various clinical settings in the short period of time I’ve been a sonographer. The competition is truly fierce here in South Florida, which is why we have to put a little more initiative into making our dreams come true. As I’ve mentioned, I truly love this profession, and whenever you put your heart and soul into something, and do it for the right reasons then your hard work will certainly be compensated in the future.

What would you like future Sonographers to know about the field?

Sonography entails a lot more than what is seen to the naked eye. Society has some bad misconceptions about our field, our job truly requires a lot of knowledge and critical thinking. I highly recommend them to look for a shadowing opportunity prior to applying for any sonography program.

What is something that you wish someone would have told you when you were getting started in the field?

I wished I would have known a little more about the hiring process and everything it entailed. This was the main reason why I decided to implement interview preparation sessions on our website.

What inspired you to enroll in the Diagnostic Medical Sonography program at Nova Southeastern University?

The main reason why I chose NSU over any of the various sonography programs here in South Florida, was because they provide a Bachelor’s degree rather than an associates or certificate. I knew I wanted to further my education after undergraduate school. Therefore, this seemed like the best option for me. Other factors that stood out were their curriculum, as it is very extensive, and they also had contracts with some of the best hospitals in the country. After being in the field for three years, I definitely do not regret choosing this particular school, and would certainly do it all over again.

Is there something that stands out about your school’s training program?

The DMS program in Fort Lauderdale, FL trains students in both general and vascular sonography. I found their courses to be very thorough, after every lecture we would scan, we even had the option for extra scan time. The way their curriculum is we cover the academical part the first year and the second year we go out to clinical rotations. I personally believe this was the best structure for me, it truly prepares you for clinical rotations, once you go out into the “real word” we have an idea of how to scan normal anatomy and how to operate the machines. Therefore, it won’t be as intimidating as going out to clinicals a few weeks into school.

What did you find most interesting or rewarding about the program?

At NSU, students have the opportunity to participate in a vast amount of educational events. I was the President for the Class of 2017. Due to this, I was able to be involved in a lot of SGA events and seminars hosted within our school. It was truly fulfilling to be able to represent my class and advocate for them on any matters at hand. This was by far one of the most rewarding experiences I had throughout my undergraduate education.

What advice do you offer students who are struggling academically?

Don’t be scared to ask for help. Most sonography programs consist of only a few students. This gives you the opportunity to create a very strong support system with your classmates. Truly take advantage of that, if you are struggling with a topic it is very likely that one of your classmates is too. Try to find out what your learning style is, once you do, you will be able to see that you are retaining material a lot easier and faster. Reach out to your instructors, they are there for you, make appointments with them to go over a topic or obtain some extra scan lab time. All in all don’t be afraid to speak up and take advantage of every resource available to you.

How can students best prepare for a successful career after graduation?

Take full advantage of every resource available to you in your school, every extra scan time, or attend every seminar/conference you can, this is always an opportunity to network. The sonography field is very small, therefore the more people you know the better. Be as proactive as you can during your program in order to be slightly more prepared for your sonography career.

Have you had a mentor or influencer in your Sonography career?

My program director, Jorge Han, was truly one of the sonographers I admired most. Besides his passion for sonography, he is truly a great professor and person. He believes in every single one of his students and their potential to succeed. To this day, I continue to look up to him and I hope I can impact as many lives as he has during his career.

Anything else that you’d like to share about life, sonography, your future plans?

I have a lot of big plans coming up both for Sonography101 and CLOVER Diagnostics, I truly cannot wait to share them with you guys.

Do you have any final tips or pieces of advice you would like to offer our readers?

Enjoy every bit of your journey, no matter how painful or tough, it is only temporary, I know you will get through this. Sometimes we are so concentrated on the school work that we forget to take a moment for ourselves to build everlasting relationships with the people around us and share some priceless moments with our loved ones.