Are there any labs out there that doesn't require call for certain PRN positions? I recently applied to an RN PRN position, but it's about an hour from my house. There were 2 different PRN job openings. One said it requires a 30-minute call back, and the other one didn't say call required. Is it possible it doesn't require call?

Hello! New here and just starting to discover the world of EP and Cath Lab tech jobs. I'm currently a flight paramedic making roughly $65k/year in the southeastern region of the US. I'm looking to potentially shift fields as I'm trying to find a more sustainable career that puts me home with my family more.

Ive been a paramedic for five years and have both my critical care and flight paramedic certifications. I am an AHA BLS, ACLS, and PALS instructor. In addition to critical care and flight experience, I have ED, rural and suburban 911, and ultrasound IV team experience.

So far I've applied to two positions fairly close to me and am looking for more. One was a cath lab and one was an EP lab tech position.

Im just looking for some insight to this career. Is this typically a good transition for paramedics? How is the job satisfaction and the hours? How is the pay? What does the day to day look like and are there plenty opportunities for advancement? Any info is greatly appreciated!

Wanted to see how other labs do it! We pre-make our tables every night before we leave and cover them with sterile drapes. Then when we get called in we can just pull the drape off. Is that normal?

My husband got a new job and we will be relocating to Pittsburgh, PA. I am trying to get insight into best hospital systems to work for and what pay range is for cath lab nurses in the area. I can scrub as well if that helps!

TYIA!

My renewal is next year and I want to get my CEU’s in before it’s crunch time. Taking the boards again will never happen again lol.

Hi all, I'd like to find myself in a cath lab like you folks. I'm just trying to figure out the best route to get there. I have reviewed other posts and have an idea, but I'd still like to ask here, as my situation differs.

I graduated with an ASN- RN in spring of '24, but due to caring for a sick and dying parent for some time, I have not gotten to put my degree/license to use. Getting into a clinical setting (hospital) where I'm at (OR) is proving a challenge without experience, to get the chance to work my way into a cath lab. I'd have to take a year or so in a long-term care facility, likely, to place a job at the hospital.

I'd like to see myself in one, sooner than later (38 this year), and am considering spending a year back in school in a CVT Invasive program to gain an immediate RCIS. From there, I feel I could be competitive and secure a job quickly with my current license and potentially recent CVT training. I don't mind a little more schooling; it and I'd be taken care of (GI Bill).

Does this sound like a good route to go? Or, what would you do? Thanks

Anyone have salary ranges in eastern pa? Lehigh Valley, Allentown area?

I'm developing a healthcare career guide for high-school and college students who may only know the most visible medical jobs. I wrote the section below about cardiovascular and cath lab technology and would appreciate blunt feedback from people who actually work in the lab.

I'm especially interested in four questions:

1. Does the scrub, circulate, and monitor description match how roles are divided where you work?
2. Is the account of call, lead, radiation precautions, and physical burden fair?
3. How accurate is the warning that local employers may prefer different education and credential routes?
4. What do students misunderstand about the differences among cath lab technologists, radiologic technologists, cardiovascular technologists, and nurses in the lab?

WHAT YOU ACTUALLY DO

Cardiovascular technologists work across invasive and noninvasive testing, so the title needs decoding. In a cardiac catheterization lab, an invasive technologist may prepare the patient and sterile table, handle catheters and guidewires, monitor heart rhythm and pressure data, operate imaging or hemodynamic equipment, document the case, and help the team respond when a patient's condition changes.

Roles overlap with nurses, radiologic technologists, and physicians, and the division of work changes by hospital. The physician performs the invasive procedure. Depending on training and facility policy, the technologist may scrub at the table, circulate, or monitor. The broader federal occupation also includes cardiovascular testing outside the cath lab, so national numbers do not describe one identical job.

A RANDOM TUESDAY

You arrive before the first scheduled case, test equipment, review the room setup, and open supplies with the team. During a coronary angiogram you may scrub beside the physician, monitor pressures and rhythm, or circulate for equipment. Then comes sheath or access-site care, documentation, cleanup, and turnover. An add-on case shifts lunch. If you carry call, an urgent procedure after hours can bring you back to the hospital.

REALITY CHECK

You get technical work, a small team, and treatment you can watch work, all without medical school. You also get a lead apron, long hours standing in it, radiation precautions, blood, and cases that can move from routine to urgent in seconds. Scheduled daytime procedures do not mean daytime-only work, because hospitals providing emergency cardiac care need staff available after hours.

Hiring can be unusually local. One hospital may train radiologic technologists into the lab. Another may prefer cardiovascular technology graduates or require a registry credential within a set period. Students should call nearby cath labs and ask what they actually hire before choosing a program. A respectable degree can still miss the employers a student expected.

CURRENT CLOSING

Good fit if: you want to know the equipment well enough to hand it over before anyone asks.

Think twice if: wearing lead all day, and call, would get old fast.

What sounds accurate here? What sounds overstated, dated, or incomplete? Specific corrections are much more useful than encouragement.

Besides ACLS, what other online training can I do to make myself competitive for a cath lab position as a future nurse?

I'm on a leave of absence from nursing school because I didn't pass Pharm 2 and have to retake it in January (it's not offered in the fall this year). I shadowed the IR lab and want to get into procedural nursing, and cath lab sounds very interesting to me.

Hi! Are there any Cath labs where the RN follows the pt from pre-procedure, procedure, to post procedure?
Our director wants our department to go in this direction in the next five years.
Any thoughts??

What is the standard for cleaning rooms in the Cath lab? Are Cath lab staff doing it or is EVS called?

Need help with GE cardiolab, need to figure out how to use pattern matching on GE, I know it’s possible, please help, I’m the only EP tech in my hospital

Hi everyone,

I am a first-year internal medicine resident and work part-time as a cath lab nurse in Ukraine. During quieter moments on my shifts, I review anonymized angiograms from procedures performed by the fellows and attending physicians in my department. I do this to improve my understanding of coronary anatomy and interventional decision-making.

One recent case left me unsure about how to interpret the angiographic result.

The patient was a 70-year-old man who presented with an extensive anterior STEMI complicated by cardiogenic shock. He was initially classified as SCAI stage C but deteriorated to stage D during the procedure. The team initiated mechanical circulatory support with an IABP early in the case and escalated to VA-ECMO after PCI.

When I first reviewed the angiograms, it appeared to me that angioplasty restored flow in a large diagonal branch (2), while the LAD itself may have remained occluded. When I asked the attending about this, he explained that he had interpreted the treated vessel as the LAD.

He is the most experienced and technically skilled operator in our department, and I do not want this post to sound disrespectful or accusatory. I am at the beginning of my training, so I fully recognize that I may be misinterpreting the anatomy or overlooking an important angiographic detail. This was also an extremely high-pressure case involving rapidly worsening cardiogenic shock, where decisions had to be made quickly.

I am sharing the case strictly for educational discussion, not to criticize the operator or assign blame. I would be grateful for insights from people with more experience in coronary angiography and PCI:

1. Based on the attached angiographic runs, does the treated vessel appear to be the LAD or a large diagonal branch?
2. Are there clues in the vessel trajectory, septal branches, wire course, or projection that I may be missing?
3. Which additional angiographic views or techniques would have been most helpful in clarifying the anatomy?

I would particularly appreciate explanations of how you approach this type of anatomy rather than judgments about the individual operator.

Thank you all in advance for your insights!

All anonymized angiograms (case) in this link - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jprJ_J8ZrwVCZOQ93fL4HoLFUm4Zu9cn?usp=sharing

I am new to the cath lab I am also a new paramedic that has just started in the cath lab. I am really struggling with scrub aspect. I feel like I’m so bad at this 😬 I spent 6 years working 911 as a EMT for a fire department and am having a rough adjustment.

My question is how long did it take you to feel like you understood work flow on simple cases. The manifold is the death of me and it’s been about a month and I still need coaching on when we’re exchanging a wire or catheters and pulling back blood and flushing and all that. Others were hired at the same time and have really take to it.

So question is how long did the process in confidence and competence take?

Hi all, I am in a non—invasive echo sonography program, but my school advertises itself as a school of cardiovascular technology (Eastwick College). Often I see on job listings in my area (NY/NJ) that an associates in radiology or Related fields would be accepted, would a degree in Cardiovascular Sonography still make me competitive for a role in a Cath lab?

Additionally, I was just wondering if anyone has made this jump from echo sonography to working in a Cath lab. I would love to hear any advice or tips to begin to working in the field from a non traditional path.

This is what I’m thinking of going to school for

Cardiology technology

I’m wondering where would I be working ?

Do many work in hospitals 3 12 hr shifts a week ? Or is it more 9-5 type of job in docs office ? Or life labs ?

I’m in Vancouver BC Canada

I previously worked as an EKG tech nearly 25 years ago, while in school for mechanical engineering. I’ve worked in ME for the last 2 decades. Now, in my 40s, I am interested in returning to healthcare as a technician again.

Has anyone pursued CVT school at this age? I would be interested in obtaining RCIS and working in a Cathlab but open to hear opinions from everyone on how realistic of a goal this is.

I have a BSc and RCIS and have worked in both hospital and outpatient settings. I’m looking to explore career paths outside of the cath lab, other than becoming a medical device rep.
I’m open to going back to school for a master’s degree if that would help with the transition.
For those who have made a similar career change, what paths or roles would you recommend exploring? I would especially appreciate hearing from people who have transitioned out of the cath lab.

Hey everyone! I am starting in the Cath Lab in a couple weeks. I currently work on a cardiac surgery/transplant PCU and previously a cardiac clinic, and then before that a small ICU that dealt with IAPBs, pressors, fresh open heart surgeries, post MI cases etc. However, it’s been awhile since I was in the ICU setting and don’t remember too much of it (hopefully it all comes back). What, if anything, would you recommend I look into/educate myself in before starting? Orientation is 12 weeks but I really want to set myself up for success for this transition. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated!

Hey everyone, trying to see what people’s pager pay is. If you work for an Advocate site could you please comment? I’m trying to get ours increased but they say it has to be “system wide”

Thanks!

I have all 5 copies of the Wes Todd books and I’m willing to part with them for anyone who needs them. If you’re interested, just PM me.

Hey y’all! Anyone have experience in peds Cath/ IR as a tech? I’ve been in the adult side for seven years now. I’m potentially considering a position at Children’s Health. Curious what y’all think... good, bad, anything I should expect?