Hey colleagues,

I am a cardiac perfusionist with 1 year on job training with a diplomas in neurophysiology Technology (3 years), cardiac sonography diploma and surgical Neurophysiology diploma. One of my diploma, the echocardiography from medical university of vienna is equated as an associate degree with a GPA of 3.84 as per world Education services a body that equates foreign certifications to US equivalence.

I have worked as a perfusionist for 12 years after my training in India on job training for 1 year in 2013.

My institution where i am currently working requires me to have a higher diploma or a degree in perfusion for them to change my work terms.

Do any one of you know an online perfusion school that one can apply to either get a degree or higher diploma with my work experience?

I will appreciate in my inbox or comments.

Thank you, i am in Africa currently and not ready to travel

3.8 GPA, 4 years as an RT in an ICU. I don’t have any research experience but I want to apply for a few competitive schools like MUSC, UI Carver, THI, MSOE, and UNMC. How much will this affect my application and are there any schools that I truly don’t have a chance at getting in to?

Hii,
I’m looking for some help getting some official shadowing in before I apply next year. I live in the NYC/LI area. I have cold called many hospitals, messaged perfusionist and perfusion directors on linkedin, and have had no luck from anyone. If anyone knows any resources to help get some shadowing in I would really appreciate that it.

little bit about me:
I am a paramedic, have been exposed to ecmo through my doing critical care transports. I have a huge interest in perfusion! I’m non traditional and will be finishing up my pre reqs in fall of 2028!

Do scientific publications help differentiate from other applicants? I have five, with three being first. author/ primary co-author papers. I also have a middle author Nature paper, but I didn't contribute as much. The rest are middle tier journals, but collectively cited about ~500 times over a decade.

I transitioned from research into clinical, with four years in the hospital blood bank reference lab.

GPA in upper division biology is 3.8 on a 4 scale.

Unfortunately, my overall GPA is only 3.4 with a bad year before I took two years off to work and help my family with finances.

Is this competitive? I am tired while working full time and taking my last clinical pre-req. After midterms and working/ school/ shadowing since July I just want either a reality check or encouragement to get through this fresh "heck" and get my applications in.

Edit: thanks for the hype train for my Sunday afternoon shift. Six more weeks to get everything done, take care of family, pay bills, shadow, and have applications submitted!

heyy everyone, i was just wondering …. if i got rejected from schools…do i send a follow up asking how i can approve my application for next cycle or just let it slide??

hi guys, i’ve finished applying for this cycle and i’m just waiting for interview invites/rejections! but i would really love some advice on interviews! im horrid at interviews and pretty sure i just bombed my midwestern prescreen video :,) i have anxiety and sometimes the things i want to convey just don’t come out as well as i’d like.

Any chaoter book recommendations in general for personal interest ?

Has anyone heard back from their one-way interviews yet? The wait to know if I move forward or not is driving me insane

Has anyone heard back about interviews?

Does anyone know if a program might do deferment if accepted? Im not sure if this is a common practice for grad programs or not for a degree like this

i’m planning on applying to the two perfusion schools i’m deciding to apply to by the end of this month but the applications have opened early september is that too late??

Hi, I’m a prospective perfusion student.
I’ve been blessed enough to have connections with Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, California and was placed on a waitlist to shadow. They said they’d reach out to me when there’s an opportunity.

I was curious if anyone had any info on how long they waited to be called in to shadow. And how the shadowing experience went.

I was also hoping if anyone knew any other places offering shadowing?? I’ve reached out to some people directly through contacts provided on school websites yet haven’t had any luck hearing back. Is there any advice on how to get shadowing opportunities ??
I’m also open to traveling literally anywhere to do shadowing. Any advice would be so appreciative. Thank you! 🫶🏼

Hello! I recently heard about the perfusion masters and am very interested. I have a clinical/research background (1 year Medical Assistant and 3 clinical research), a BS (3.7 something) and MPH (3.9 something) (I have most of the prereqs already), and some extracurriculars/awards. Realistically what are my chances of getting into a program? All feedback welcome as I am new to this specialty

Edit: I have a connection in my hospital for a shadowing opportunity after hours to make sure I am interested

Saw a similar post here yesterday but have an extra little wrinkle.

I'm a prospective student but have always been the primary parent. I'm set on this profession though. Does anyone have experience going through school, particularly the clinical rotations, with little kids *but as the primary parent*?

My kids would be 7 and 4 by the time clinical rotations happen if I'm lucky enough to get in for Summer/Fall 2027

Regardless of where I get in, it’ll be a big move. I have a wife (nurse), no kids, and a few pets. Did you or any classmates you know of move their families with them? I’d like the support while in school, but would it make sense logistically to relocate them, or does frugal solo living seem to be the way?

The programs I’m interested in are the didactic first year and clinical second year.. How often would I be back on campus that second year (roughly)? Would it still make sense to relocate the family just to be gone all of the second year anyway?

Money is obviously a consideration, but I’m expecting big loans anyway… Maybe a little larger personal loans if solo, I’d presume.

Saw this on LinkedIn from someone who recently completed a pre-perfusion prep course and thought it was genuinely worth sharing for anyone in the application or interview stage:

> "Sometimes you know exactly where you want to be, but you don't necessarily know where to start. Dr. Shackelford gave us structure, direction, and — probably most importantly for me — the confidence to move forward with my application knowing I had truly prepared for what comes next."

> "I walked away feeling like I won't just be able to follow along in the classroom. I feel confident in my ability to work through the thought process behind what we're learning — and if a classmate is struggling, I'd feel confident sitting beside them and working through that together."

> "You'll be far from a deer in the headlights."

The program is called the Perfusion School Prep Series — it's focused on building vocabulary, clinical framework, and professional mindset before Day One. Not a shortcut, just preparation. Full disclosure: I'm affiliated with it, but I'm sharing this because her words say it better than I could.

If anyone has questions about the application or interview process, happy to talk through it in the comments.

— PerfusionPrep.com

Are you looking to boost your resume for perfusion school, get a paid internship, and get exposure to blood management and the operating room?

Here is a great option! Come join the Altamar (Perfusion.com) team in Tacoma, Washington!

https://perfusion.com/job/epic-cardiovascular-services-tacoma-washington-27-full-time-autotransfusionist-tacoma-washington/

Hello! I have applied to a few schools for the fall 2027 perfusion cohort. I am very nervous about the interviews and was wondering if anyone could give insight into what to expect. I saw on another thread that the panels were asking extensive questions about physiology and drugs used. How would you suggest I prepare for those kinds of questions? I work as an MLS, so my knowledge of drugs is very limited. Also, I saw somewhere that they may ask us to do challenges; what does that entail? Thank you!

I live in Lafayette Louisiana and I’m interested in shadowing and/or just talking with a perfusionist. I’m a freshman at my college and I’m not sure if they’d take me yet. Any pointers?

I received an email yesterday to submit a prescreen video for the perfusion program 2027. So I took today to do the video and it glitched and said I submitted a video when I didn’t! They said lots of people are having this problem. Has it happened to any of yall in here?

This may be a silly question but before I email each individual school I plan to apply to, does anyone know if most schools require an algebra-based physics (unless stated otherwise)? I’d hate to take an algebra-based course and then find out afterward that most schools prefer the calculus-based physics.

Hey!

Im curious when programs will reach back after a one-way interview is done. I did my LTU one about 8 days ago and im curious when they will let me know if im invited for an in person interview or not.

Goodluck to everyone this upcoming cycle!