Distinguished Educator Award 

Purpose

The SDMS Distinguished Educator Award was established to honor exceptional educators in the field of diagnostic medical sonography. This award is given annually to an educator who is nominated by their peers for their dedication to teaching, innovation in education, and ongoing support of students through mentorship, research, and volunteerism.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the Distinguished Educator Award, an individual must:

• Be a current member of the SDMS in good standing and must have been a member for a minimum of five (5) consecutive years immediately prior to nomination.
• Be an educator in a Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) with at least five (5) years of teaching in academic diagnostic medical sonography or cardiovascular sonography.
• Be credentialed by a national sonography credentialing body recognized by the SDMS Board of Directors, as detailed in the SDMS Position Statement: Recognition of Sonography Credentialing Organizations Position Statement.

Nomination

• Nominator must be a current individual SDMS member. Self-nominations cannot be made.
• Nominations are accepted annually between March 1 and March 31.

Procedure

• A call for nominations is made to the SDMS membership at large each year.
• Once the nomination is received, the nominee will be asked to complete the SDMS Distinguished Educator Award Application and return it by the appropriate deadline.
• The SDMS Membership Awards and Recognition Committee will evaluate all complete applications and make a recommendation to the SDMS Board of Directors.
• The SDMS Board of Directors may either accept or reject the recommendation. If the Board decides that the candidate does not demonstrate sufficient merit, the award will not be presented that year.

Recognition

Award recipients receive:

• A complimentary full conference registration to the current year's SDMS Annual Conference;
• A personal invitation to submit a proposal to the SDMS Events Management Committee as a possible Educator speaker for the following year's Annual Conference;
• An engraved award featuring their name and a corresponding award lapel pin;
• Two complimentary, transferrable tickets to the SDMS & SDMS Foundation Awards ​event held at the SDMS Annual Conference; and
• Recognition at the SDMS Annual Conference and in the Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (JDMS), SDMS press release, and SDMS social media release; and
• A letter from the SDMS President to the recipient's supervisor (e.g., Dean).

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

The SDMS is committed to promoting and implementing ongoing improvements to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all award and recognition programs and in the diagnostic medical sonography profession. Click Here to read the full SDMS Board Policy.

SDMS Distinguished Educator Award Winners