by BrittNICURN

I am a RN in a Level III NICU. I had an interview yesterday and was offered a position in the Cath Lab. I currently work nighshift and have a 9 month old daughter and wanting something in the daytime. I was able to see 2 caths and stent placements and enjoyed it. The job will be 4 10 hour days during the week, plus call on every 5th weekend and one night during the week every week once I am comfortable. I really like cardiac. Can anyone give me any insight about their expierence in the Cath Lab? I really feel guily to leave the NICU and really LOVE my job but I hate what nights is doing to my family and marrige. PLEASE HELP!!!

Re: Offered postion in Cath Lab.. any insight?

hEY BRITT,

Congrats on the offer. I am an CCU/MICU rn and have been cross-trained (somewhat) to be on-call for cath lab in case of emergencies where the on-call nurse could'nt make it, that and to pull sheaths. Anywho, I really enjoyed the experience in cath as well, its not bedside, but can get pretty busy especially if you have several back to back cases and emergencies that occur during a procedure etc. but as far as the time diff. when I did orientation at cath (I too work nights) it was sweet. I was in at 6-7 depending on caseload and was out by 3-4 depending on caseload and on-call situations. it was a 5 day stint for me and that whole time I enjoyed some breakfast and ALL dinners with my family and such except one night when I got called in for a case. Otherwise from what I hear from you I think you will like it, I know I did and may even go full time cath from ICU nights in a year or two. I hope this helps.

PS: ask about on call pay, for us if you get called in no matter how long the case or if it ends up being nothing we get paid 4 hours time and a half off the bat for coming in the hospital!!..

Re: Offered postion in Cath Lab.. any insight?

I am an open heart recovery nurse and definitely if you had the craving for the heart and cath lab it is one of the greatest experiences to learn and knowledge you will use constantly. The heart is fascinating and each one is unique with its own specific problems....and a adrenalin rush is a sure thing - not with each case but it happens.....It sounds like something to add for you never stop learning in this field. Just don't let them keep adding more extra time - you will get it more often than not being called in on call time. Go in with a positive exciting time awaiting you. Hope your cath lab is as great as ours. We all work so well as a team player in each persons condition. Good Luck!

Re: Offered postion in Cath Lab.. any insight?

Well-
I feel the need to provide a little balance to this question.
In our hospital- The on call cath lab team has to stay until all cases for the day are done- To include any and all add on's that the cardiologists feel like they want to add on. Furthermore- they can,and do, get called back after they have stayed until 7 or 9 pm at night (with a 6 am start time) Also- for an on call weeked, one can plan on getting called in (we are a large teaching facility)

Wearing lead aprons (approx 20-40 pounds) for 10-12 hours gets exhausting even when just standing in the lab. There was not a day that I left where my joints didn't ache- even with proper shoes and such.

Those are the cons- in my opinion. However- it is a fabulous place to learn all things (and I mean all things) cardiac. Cath lab nurses are extremely specialized after all of that training, and seem to be sought after for many other opportunities when they decide to move on. (For instance- pacer reps for medtronic)

I am a critical care/ ER trauma float- I worked in Cath lab for a few months because I thought I would really like it- I did not. For the reasons above mostly, and I didn't feel challenged. However, I have a friend Rodney who was a critical care nurse and ABSOLUTELY loves the cath lab and is the consumate Cath Lab professional nurse (his knowledge base is impressive)

The cath lab is also very impressive in our hospital because we have times as low as 12 minutes from door of ER to cath lab when pt's are infarcting. I have heard that same sentiment in other hospitals as well. So, depending on your hospital, you could be joining a highly respected team.

In the end- you have to do what you like. If you like it GREAT! If you don't- Well the cool thing about Nursing is that there are hundreds of other types of jobs to try. Good luck to you.

Just my

Re: Offered postion in Cath Lab.. any insight?

I went from PICU to cath lab. I love it!
Yes, the lead aprons can and do get very heavy. I take mine off as soon as the case ends and put it back on when the physician arrives (I usually give the sedation, then put on lead while the physician scrubs).
I have always been fascinated by the cath lab (I had a close family member with a heart transplant, and loved my clinicals in the cath lab).
Yes, the call can be very tiring and frustrating with some physicians. But the pay is wonderful.
I also like the 4-10 hour shifts. In my opinion, that is soooooo much better than the floor hours. I like having weekends off with my family (on call every 5th weekend), but still not stuck at work like working the floors.
I like having evenings off, I'm normally home between 4-6, depending on the case load, sometimes, I'm home by 1-2, which is sweet.
You will never stop learning in the cath lab. The heart is amazing. The procedures are way cool. The adrenaline rush is there, not all the time, but enough.
Let us know what you think, if you accept. I do love my job.
Most cath lab nurses are type A, at least in my facility. So don't wear your feelings on your sleeve, they will get stomped on. Be assertive, don't let them walk all over you, but also, relax, be willing to listen and LEARN!
Good luck

Re: Offered postion in Cath Lab.. any insight?

Originally Posted by rnurse2b

I went from PICU to cath lab. I love it!
Yes, the lead aprons can and do get very heavy. I take mine off as soon as the case ends and put it back on when the physician arrives (I usually give the sedation, then put on lead while the physician scrubs).
I have always been fascinated by the cath lab (I had a close family member with a heart transplant, and loved my clinicals in the cath lab).
Yes, the call can be very tiring and frustrating with some physicians. But the pay is wonderful.
I also like the 4-10 hour shifts. In my opinion, that is soooooo much better than the floor hours. I like having weekends off with my family (on call every 5th weekend), but still not stuck at work like working the floors.
I like having evenings off, I'm normally home between 4-6, depending on the case load, sometimes, I'm home by 1-2, which is sweet.
You will never stop learning in the cath lab. The heart is amazing. The procedures are way cool. The adrenaline rush is there, not all the time, but enough.
Let us know what you think, if you accept. I do love my job.
Most cath lab nurses are type A, at least in my facility. So don't wear your feelings on your sleeve, they will get stomped on. Be assertive, don't let them walk all over you, but also, relax, be willing to listen and LEARN!
Good luck

well, i wore my heart on my sleeve and bleed it did after everybody (senior nurses and the doctors) took a bite out of it..now, im desperately trying to go back to ICU where i was originally assigned because im such an emotional softie. though i agree that cath lab can be pretty exciting at times and now that we'll soon be opening our own EP lab, things wud be busier than ever.

Re: Offered postion in Cath Lab.. any insight?

Most cath lab nurses are type A, at least in my facility. So don't wear your feelings on your sleeve, they will get stomped on. Be assertive, don't let them walk all over you, but also, relax, be willing to listen and LEARN!

In Cath Lab you really have to work as a team. There is 1 patient in the room and usually at least 4 healthcare providers (the M.D., the circulator, the monitoring person, and the scrub person). You have to learn to read each other's minds, anticipate the next action, and as another person mentioned, not get your feelings hurt when someone snaps at you.

Nursing and tech roles sometimes overlap, there are often turf wars. You will see , that even though the nurse may be the person with more education and a better understanding of what is really going on with the patient, the person with the power is the person who stands next to the doctor during the case. This is the tech.

Some techs will take advantage of this and take on the role of "under-doc", and will try to give you orders. My suggestion to you is to always stand up for patient safety and hold your ground. Your most important responsibility is to keep that patient safe.

Re: Offered postion in Cath Lab.. any insight?

Originally Posted by SWEnfermera

Most cath lab nurses are type A, at least in my facility. So don't wear your feelings on your sleeve, they will get stomped on. Be assertive, don't let them walk all over you, but also, relax, be willing to listen and LEARN!

In Cath Lab you really have to work as a team. There is 1 patient in the room and usually at least 4 healthcare providers (the M.D., the circulator, the monitoring person, and the scrub person). You have to learn to read each other's minds, anticipate the next action, and as another person mentioned, not get your feelings hurt when someone snaps at you.

Nursing and tech roles sometimes overlap, there are often turf wars. You will see , that even though the nurse may be the person with more education and a better understanding of what is really going on with the patient, the person with the power is the person who stands next to the doctor during the case. This is the tech.

Some techs will take advantage of this and take on the role of "under-doc", and will try to give you orders. My suggestion to you is to always stand up for patient safety and hold your ground. Your most important responsibility is to keep that patient safe.

Sounds like the OR...I might have to rethink my goals...argh!

Re: Offered postion in Cath Lab.. any insight?

Maybe it depends on the hospital- at mine, the Cath lab is like a family. Everyone is so nice. A bunch of techs were in my IABP class and I can't believe how knowledgeable they are about vascular anatomy. I would LOVE to work there if I could- but like GenXnurse said, their schedule can be unpredictable. I have small kiddos and I really can't stay late when they have a full day. The other night, the team was called in at 4 am! I'm just not up to that schedule at this time in my life. It seems cool and I hope to get there someday!!!

Re: Offered postion in Cath Lab.. any insight?

I am so glad I found this post. I will be a new G.N. in May 09 and I accepted an ICU fellowship but I will move into the cath lab. Everything mentioned above has me very excited to start working. Thank-you everyone.