Secondary Career Option Cardiovascular Perfusionist Second Career Option Cardiovascular Perfusionist

Second Career Option: Cardiovascular Perfusionist

Second Career Option: Cardiovascular Perfusionist

A cardiovascular perfusionist is a specialized health professional who operates the heart-lung machine during cardiac surgery and other surgeries that require cardiopulmonary bypass (Goeckner, Hicks, and Wanzer, 2011, p. 136). The perfusionist is a highly trained member of the cardiothoracic surgical team whose responsibilities center around the support of the physiological and metabolic needs of the cardiac surgical patient so that the cardiac surgeon may operate on a still, unbeating heart (Lackatta, 2002, p. 29). Perfusionists are vital to the completion of such operations, and are vital to the hospitals in which they work as these individuals are often responsible for purchasing equipment and supplies relative to their duties, hiring support technicians and overseeing department management and quality improvement regarding their area of work and expertise. In addition to playing a vital role in the surgical process and in the hospital administrative process, cardiovascular perfusionists are important to the hospital staff and respective medical field through their consistent education and knowledge-attaining regarding the developments of their profession.

Educational Preparation, Certification, Licensure and Continued Education

In the United States, a Bachelor's Degree or junior-level prerequisites with concentrations in biology, anatomy and physiology are required to begin training in a perfusion program (Perfusion,...

Training takes place within one of 17 perfusion training programs within the United States, and it typically consists of two years of academic and clinical education, with students following the instructions of certified clinical perfusionists in the confines of a cardiac surgical operating room while completing academic coursework in other areas pursuant to training. Once a perfusion student graduates from one of these training programs, he or she is not considered to be a certified clinical perfusionist, but must continue on a path toward certification.
The American Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion notes, "A two-part exam is required to become a certified clinical perfusionist and to use the designation C.C.P." (ABCP, 2010, p.1). Upon the successful completion of these certification examinations, these C.C.P.s are expected to continue their careers with a basis in continued education, with annual recertification requirements established by the American Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion. In order to meet such recertification requirements, C.C.P.s must offer proof of a minimum number of clinical procedures and attendance to scientific or educational meetings to his or her certifying body (Mayo Clinic, 2011, p.1).

The Practice of Cardiovascular Perfusionism, Payment and Starting Salary

Cardiovascular perfusion is practiced solely in the hospital setting under the restrictions and standards that have been set forth by that respective hospital's overarching surgical department and that of the cardiac surgical department. Services are paid for largely through patients' insurance providers or in conjunction with patients' own…