(rdnewsNOW/Ian Gustafson)

By rdnewsNOW staff

Future Alberta health care workers

RDP unveils new lab for diagnostic medical sonography diploma program

Sep 10, 2025 | 5:16 PM

Red Deer Polytechnic unveiled Thursday its brand-new sonography lab located on its main campus.

The lab, which is for the new diagnostic medical sonography diploma program that kicked off at RDP this fall, gives students the opportunity to gain hands-on training.

Heather Dirks, dean of RDP’s School of Health and Wellness, said when students graduate, they’ll be qualified to practice as a sonographer at hospitals in Alberta, which most people know as an ultrasound tech. This includes general, vascular, gynecologic, and many other types of sonography.

The diagnostic medical sonography diploma program was brought to RDP because they heard from industry and the community that there was a need for more sonographers in the field.

“There are lots of jobs. We have institutions or health care providers that are already asking about our students who are two years away from graduating,” she said.

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(rdnewsNOW/Ian Gustafson)

At the start of September, they welcomed 24 students into the program and have plans to grow that moving forward.

She explained there was a demand for the program from students as well. As one of just three post-secondary institutions which offer it in Alberta, people interested in the program at RDP only have SAIT or NAIT as alternatives.

Stuart Cullum, president at RDP, said it’s a big boost for the school to add a program and a lab such as this one.

“We are really proud of our health technology programming at RDP. We serve nearly 1,200 students already and we want to continue to grow that cohort,” he said.

“We need to in central Alberta, there’s a demand for health care workers in many different fields, and this is an opportunity to provide more graduates into the workforce for that particular area.”

The area of the building the lab is now located in was once for the art programs, which were also relocated. Construction of the lab began in April and concluded mid-August. A year prior, they started on the development of the program to make sure it met the needs of the industry and health care system.

(rdnewsNOW/Ian Gustafson)

One of the first of the 24 students who began the diploma program this month was Rocky Mountain House’s Cadence Girard who said she applied for the program at SAIT in Calgary and NAIT in Edmonton for two years, but was unable to secure a spot.

When it became available at RDP, however, the 20-year-old applied right away and was accepted.

“I’ve always been drawn to health care in general, but I knew nursing wasn’t really for me because it’s a lot. This program is as well, but it just seems a little bit more for me. I’m really into physics so that’s also something that got me into it,” she explained.

She said the first few weeks have been busy, but added it’s been great to meet everyone in the faculty and her fellow classmates. This includes using the lab’s brand new equipment.

“It’s been a lot of fun. It was definitely a little chaotic at the start just trying to figure out how it works,” she added. “We do an open lab, then we get to book in wherever, so we have free range to scan each other and play with the equipment a little bit. That’s been helping a lot.”