Where are all of my EP lab nurses!?

Also what was everyone’s background and how prepared did you feel?

There's not many EP RN's! Mostly because there are few educational programs available, and most of us learn on the job which takes years. I've been in EP almost 3 years. I like it enough to stay. I would say if you like details and physiology, then go into it. Everything is in milliseconds and time in between catheters that are placed throughout the heart. We break up the PR interval in 3 pieces and study exactly how long it takes a signal to go through the AV node to the perkingies. It helps to have an understanding of  electricity (e.g. Ohms law and how it behaves).

I would spend a couple hours in one and see if you like it. The workflow is divided into two parts, ablations (creating scare tissue to correct an arrhythmia) and pacemaker/ICD placement. Ablations are not as immediately satisfying as caths when you open up an LAD during a STEMI. Sometimes take hours to study and ablate, especially PVC and afib ablations. The other half is CRM when you put in pacemakers. Single, dual, Bi-ventricular or leadless, they all improve a patient's cardiac output. 

What I like most is that we perform one of few procedures in which a patient can come off meds afterwards. It is one of the areas of healthcare that fixes a problem instead of leading to the use of more medication. Not that this is a factor, but good to know - the field is growing and number of procedures monthly are expected to increase 10-20% per year. We are a very busy lab and personally say I've seen this happen.

If you ever want to talk just send a PM. I'd be happy to answer any your questions.

Hello OP and @MusicGuy, do you take care of stress tests? I work recovery for 4 years, still do… and I am also hitting my 2 years for CTICU next month. I had asked what the nurses role and one of the staff said, “key, is a very good IV skill”. This lab I’m interested in caters cardio version, TEE, stress tests.. can you tell us more.

Old post I know but thought I would comment. 

Our EP is combined with Vascular/Cath/IR. What do I love about EP....well, it is an ever growing field. There is a lot of different kinds of equipment to learn and know. What did I not like....honestly how long some of the cases go. You ever had no relief at 830pm and have to pee...not fun at all. Our teams only had 1 nurse at the time..... so no one else to give meds. You had to stay in the room. 

I have been an EP nurse for about 8 years now, I worked 7 years in a busy lab that did all types of EP procedures, now I am traveling as an EP nurse. Things I enjoy about EP: procedural nursing vs bedside, no call, and always changing technology. My background prior to EP was Clinical IT, I know, far from what many other nurse backgrounds are in the specialty. However, I gravitated to the technical aspects of EP and aggressively sought certifications, such as RCES and IBHRE CEPS. EP is going to be different than whatever specialty you are currently in and your success will depend on you. I am happy with pursuing this career path and would recommend it to anyone willing to learn. This is not a specialty that is mastered in 3 months. 

Hi there! I’m a PCU nurse and about to start in our EP Lab! I’m very excited to learn all the in depth cardiac procedures. Does anyone have book/manual recommendations for procedures, medications, etc.? I would like to do some studying outside of work. Thanks! 

I work cath and EP and EP is what I prefer. I like seeing all the different types of ablations. The device cases can also be cool depending on what they are getting implanted and what's going on with their rhythms. It is more interesting than cath (and I don't hate the cath side either).