I will talk briefly on Cardiac Cath Lab and what it is. I will explain some procedures done in the lab, the Equipment cost of exams along with how to get into the job field.
November 28, 2023
November 28, 2023
I will talk briefly on Cardiac Cath Lab and what it is. I will explain some procedures done in the lab, the Equipment cost of exams along with how to get into the job field.
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Allison Wright
November 30, 2023 — 11:32 am
Hey Jennifer,
I really enjoyed the depth of your presentation! I was wondering how exactly you’d get into this field? What are the credentials required to perform these studies?
Jennifer Kenger
December 1, 2023 — 7:11 pm
Hello Allison,
Thank you! To work in the Cardiac catheterization lab you will need to go to a creditor program, such as LCC has, in the radiology technology program. The program is 22 months long, or 5 semesters. From there you will need to get board certified thorough the state. The ARRT.org is the site that you will need to use. Once you are board certified, there are a few different options to take. The most common one is on the job training in the hospital. They
will teach you along with show you how to do the procedure, then from there there is a list of procedure’s you must get check off on from a radiology tech. The other option is, go to the ARRT website and click on vascular radiology and follow their guidelines. It is around 150 online classes along with roughly 60 procedure’s you need to get signed off on from a certified vascular tech. Then from there you can start working in a catheterization lab.
Thank you again.
Jessica Strader
November 30, 2023 — 11:33 am
Hello Jennifer, when it comes to participating in the procedure who all will be in the room with you at the time and what is the role they might be doing to help with the procedure?
Jessica
Jennifer Kenger
December 1, 2023 — 7:23 pm
Hello Jessica,
Thank you for the comment. There are a few different people in the room with you. This room has a sterile environment and a semi sterile environment and to keep things flowing good, they will have more people. Such as a few nurses, one is sterile while the other is not so the the nurse can go get the sterile nurse a supply or medication. there will be a doctor doing the procedure, a surgical technician, a resident doctor, and a radiology technologist. If there are medical students with that doctor, they may be in the room with them. They are all different, but play a important role in doing any procedure in the cardiac catheterization lab.
The roles each play are as follow, Doctor will do the procedure, the resident will assist, if he has a resident. The medical student will also be watching and may assist. The surgical technician will hand the doctor tools. There will be some nurses, to get medication and monitor the patient. There will be a radiology technologist that will run the C-arm (x-ray machine) so that the doctor will be help to see where he is going. The machine will run under fluoro, which is live action x-rays.
Cheyenne Welch
November 30, 2023 — 2:04 pm
Greetings Miss Jen. I really enjoyed your presentation on Cardiac catheterization and the break down of the various exams this lab area can be utilized for. I didn’t realize so many different exams such as angiograms or angioplasties were done in this type of specialized area. I always assumed it was done in a general OR suite. I am curious though, with this being a potential career path for radiographers, do you feel the training and time put in to achieve these certifications is worth it? I would assume this is a high stress environment, and you would want to balance time put in to job satisfaction output. What type of people do you think would be suited for this environment? Do you yourself want to go into this field?
Jennifer
December 1, 2023 — 8:12 pm
Hello Cheyenne,
Thank you for watching!
I also thought it was done in a general OR, but theses bigger hospitals have their own room. They will have the x-ray machines mounted to the floor and the machines are usually more powerful than the ones you see everyone pushing around. My mom used to work in the cardiac cath lab room, and she loved it. She loved getting to know the cardiologist as well as the team. She loved that it had routine to it. She said it was a high stress job, but she loved being in surgery she just wanted something more specialized. This is why she went into work in this room. I see there are good benefits to want to get a job in this department. As I have talked with a few hospitals, and they are willing to pay you to train at their hospital to become certified in it. I see hard dedicated and experience workers wanting to work in this department. Some workers who want routine work and not so much chaos of the other areas can be.
I would love to observe a procedure done in the room and see if I truly want to do this. I also thought it would be fun. I love how the heart works and functions. If the hospital is willing to train me on the job, I would defiantly consider doing this. I do love surgery, and now that I have seen how fluoro (live xrays) work, I love watching that to. So I think this job would be in my future.
Jennifer
December 1, 2023 — 11:11 pm
Hello Jessica,
There will be a few different people in the cath lab. There will be a doctor, who will do the procedure the doctor is a cardiologist, who specializes in heart function. If the doctor has residents, the residents will be there to assist the doctor. Along with medical students, who are there to observe. A surgical technologist will be present, to work beside the doctor and help hand him tools that he needs. There will be a few nurses in the room, to help monitor the patient and assist the doctor, with out going outside their scope of practice. With in the nurses in the room, there are a few of them and they each have different roles, such a scrub in nurse, a circulator nurse and a monitor nurse. Last but not least, the radiology technologist. They run the x-ray machine to help the doctor see inside the patient. This is great, so the doctor does not have to make a big incision in the patient and can just have a small incision.
Tammy DePottey
December 3, 2023 — 5:53 pm
Hi Jenn,
I really enjoy watching your presentation, lot’s of great information, and also learning that this specialty modality may be something you may move into after becoming a registered radiologic technologist. That’s exciting, and knowing how big a part the technologist plays in these type of imaging procedures plays a huge role in job satisfaction. It is interesting how you pointed out the costs of these procedures, equipment prices and hospital costs, and the additional education needed after completing the radiologic technologist program. I wonder what kind of radiation exposure an Interventional Radiography Technologist would receive compared to a Diagnostic Radiologic Technologist and if they use different methods of reducing radiation exposure to their patients, colleagues, and themselves.
Jonathon McVey
December 6, 2023 — 2:36 pm
I enjoyed your presentation. I am an MI survivor and I underwent angioplasty with 5 stents and an ICD placed. I am always encouraged to see new students entering into this healthcare specialty. Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States and we need thousands of new specialist. Your graphics and information held my attention. Thank you for this presentation. Best of luck to you in your career.