Need advice, want to work in a cath lab!

Specialties Cardiac

Published

Greetings!

I am a new grad RN who's worked as a Paramedic for the last 4 years in the Emergency Department. How would I go about getting into the cardiac cath lab? I just signed a position in an Emergency Department as an RN to get some experience, but would like some guidance from you folks!

Thanks,

Garrett

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Specializes in RETIRED Cath Lab/Cardiology/Radiology.

Moved to own thread for visibility.

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Specializes in cardiac.

Your off to a good start, as many labs require ED or ICU experience. Start reading http://www.cathlabdigest.com

and http://www.sicp.com

Both are great reading for cath lab staff.

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Specializes in Cardiac.

My hospital requires ICU experience, but that can sometimes be interchangable with ER. Get ACLS certified and read,read,READ about cardiac.

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Now I'm 6 months into my ER RN job and I still really want to get into a cath lab. I plan on staying here for atleast a year. What should I do next?

Do I need to work in an ICU before transitioning to the Cath lab?

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Specializes in ICU, SICU, Burns, ED, Cath lab, and EMS.

Likewise, I recommend 1-2 yrs in ED and transfer to ICU. You need the experience of working with critically ill adults. Things can be boring in the cath lab doing scheduled cases. Also, your emergency patients can come in with cardiogenic shock..need a intraaortic balloon pump placed, Its important to be able to mix drips while gathering equipment if necessary. Its a great place to work, but my ER junkies get bored and ICU nurses don't like the call requirement.

Best wishes for your success,

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