Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. An estimated 80 million American citizens presently suffer from one type of heart disease or another. On an annual basis there are as many as a million heart attacks taking place across the nation that require immediate treatment. That is why nurses who specialize in cardiac care nursing careers are incredibly valuable and sought after. This is a specialty that will continue to be more and more needed all of the time.
What is Cardiac Care Nursing?
Cardiac care nursing (or cardiac nursing) is a nursing specialty that as the name implies, is one that deals with patients that suffer from any number of problems that relate to the cardiovascular system. Cardiac care nurses treat and attend to patients who suffer from such conditions as congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction, unstable angina, cardiomyopathy, coronary artery disease and cardiac dysrhythmia.
Cardiac nurses are involved in the early prevention and diagnosis of heart conditions, as well as the comprehensive care of heart problems, including coronary disease, high blood pressure and stroke. Nurses of this specialty are in the business of saving lives and administering life changing medical treatments. They work as a part of a team and work under the direction of a cardiologist.
Cardiac care nurses perform a tremendous amount of important functions in their jobs. These include:
• cardiac monitoring
• vascular monitoring
• postoperative care
• stress test evaluations
• health assessments
A cardiac nurse must be a registered nurse. As a cardiac nurse it is necessary to have both Basic Life Support as well as certification in Advanced Cardiac Life Support. A cardiac care nurse must have specialized skills in such things as defibrillation, medication administration by continuous intravenous drip and electrocardiogram monitoring.
Cardiac nurses work in a variety of areas. It is possible to try out different areas to figure out which one is most suitable to your tastes. You will find cardiac card nurses working in intensive care units (ICU), coronary care units (CCU), cardiac catheterisation laboratory (CCL), cardiac rehabilitation, cardiac surgical wards, cardiac medical wards, research and operating theaters.
When working in a hospital setting cardiac care nurses work as part of a larger whole which is the staff of the intensive care unit. The education, training and experience of these nurses’ put them front and center when it comes to responding to cardiac emergencies. Once the emergency has passed they then must come up with long-term cardiac treatment plans to help their patients to live quality lives despite their health conditions. Cardiac care nurses play a critical role in the early detection of heart problems as well as the treatment and management of such. Their fast action and skilled level of competence in performing the jobs they were trained to do has a direct impact on the survival rate of patients with heart problems.
Having strong and effective communication skills as a cardiac care nurse is essential. These nurses not only interact on a regular basis with their patient and provide them with care information but they also interact with the families members of cardiac patients. Nurses keep the loved ones of a patient informed about what is going on and they answer any questions that may arise. They also explain to family members in what areas they can be of assistance to the patient.
Education and Salary of a Cardiac Care Nurse
It is important to realize that cardiac care nursing is a special branch of nursing. Those who wish to pursue this area of nursing must first obtain the basic registered nurse (RN) degree. In some cases obtaining a four year bachelor’s degree in nursing will also be a prerequisite. Before a nurse wishing to work in cardiac care can be recognized as a cardiac specialist she must have logged many hours working with cardiac patients and she must pursue additional accreditation beyond her degree in advanced cardiac techniques. She also must receive extensive hands-on training and experience (as previously mentioned) working in a critical care ward.
Working as a cardiac care nurse is a demanding and stressful job but it also reaps its share of benefits. In this job you will get to be a part of the miracle of saving lives. Financially working as a cardiac card nursing is also very lucrative. The starting base salary for a cardiac care nurse who is an RN nurse is $39,000. After three years or more of working in this capacity the salary jumps to $47,110. With a higher level of education the salary can continue to climb throughout your career.
