Roles / Attributes of the Invasive Cardiovascular Technologist

The Invasive Cardiovascular Technologist is part of the team in the cardiac catheterization lab, assisting with both diagnostic and interventional procedures. All members of the team work together with the physician to ensure patient comfort and safety. There are specific essential requirements that the technologist must have to perform the 3 main roles in the cath lab.

The 3 main roles the Invasive Cardiovascular Technologist has are:

• Scrub Assistant
• Circulator
• Monitoring Assistant

The employment outlook and salaries for Invasive Cardiovascular Technologists are excellent.

As the Scrub Assistant, you work side-by-side with the cardiologist, helping with the catheters, guidewires, and other sterile equipment used to image and treat disorders of the cardiovascular system.

The Monitoring Assistant continuously observes the ECG and blood pressure of the patient. They also run the computerized recording system and maintain the procedure documentation.

The Circulator primarily assists the patient, gives medications, and hands equipment to the physician and Scrub Assistant.

The team members working the the cardiac cath lab come from a wide variety of health professions, including nursing, radiology, respiratory, and many others. These professionals are trained on-the-job in the cardiac cath lab. The El Centro ICVT program specifically prepares professionals to work in the cardiac cath lab, with both classroom and clinical experience.

Employment of cardiology technologists is expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations through 2008. Growth will occur as the population ages, because older people have a higher incidence of heart problems.

Technologists generally work a 5-day, 40-hour week that may include weekends and evenings/nights when on-call. Cardiovascular technologists spend a lot of time walking and standing, and must wear a lead apron for protection from ionizing radiation (x-rays). Work may sometimes be stressful because they are in close contact with patients who have serious heart ailments, including an acute myocardial infarction. Some patients during the procedures may encounter complications that have life or death implications, and the technologist must be emotionally mature to cope and act to care for the patient.

Successful completion of the Invasive Cardiovascular Technology Program requires the acquisition of general knowledge and basic skills needed to perform safely and adequately as an Invasive Cardiovascular Technologist.

Faculty in the ICVT Program have a responsibility for the welfare of the patients treated or otherwise affected by students enrolled in the ICVT program, as well as for the welfare of students. In order to fulfill this responsibility, the program has set forth the following minimum essential requirements that must be met in order to participate in the ICVT program and graduate.

Admission and retention decisions for the ICVT student are based not only on prior satisfactory academic achievement, but also on nonacademic factors which serve to ensure that the candidate can complete the essential requirements of the academic program for graduation.

Essential requirements, as distinguished from academic standards, refer to those cognitive, physical, and behavioral abilities that are necessary for satisfactory completion of all aspects of the curriculum.

• Essential abilities in information acquisition - the ability to master information presented in the course work in the form of lectures, written material, and projected images
• Cognitive abilities necessary to master relevant content in basic science and clinical courses at a level deemed appropriate by the faculty.

The ICVT student must be able to safely and accurately perform all aspects of the role the Invasive Cardiovascular Technologist performs in the cardiac catheterization laboratory.

• Sufficient upper and lower body coordination to safely handle equipment used in the cardiac cath lab, as well as assist in transferring and transporting patients and performing CPR.
• Fine manual dexterity to manipulate catheters and guidewires.
• Visual acuity to observe the ECG/hemodynamic monitor CRT screens at a distance.
• Hearing acute enough to clearly distinguish vocal commands in a noisy environment and in which the speakers' mouths are often covered with masks.
• Touch discrimination to discern veins in order to perform venipunctures.
• Able and willing to work with blood and with organisms that may be infectious.
• Assume the risk of exposure to ionizing radiation; that risk is minimal, however, as long as the student observes proper radiation safety precautions.
• Emotional stability required for full utilization of his/her intellectual abilities.
• Able to work accurately and safely under stress, e.g., work under time constraints; read and record numbers accurately; perform repetitive tasks; concentrate in distracting situations; and make subjective evaluations and decisions where mistake may have a high impact on patient care.
• Able to adapt to changing environments and be able to prioritize tasks.
• Able to communicate effectively in written and spoken English in order to transmit information to members of the health care team.
• Ability to make a correct judgment in seeking supervisory help and consultation in a timely manner.
• Possess attributes that include integrity, responsibility, and tolerance.
• Show respect for self and others
• Work independently as well as with others
• Project an image of professionalism.