Local healthcare professionals, both newbies and veterans, looking to explore the world of cardiac care may be in luck. According to experts in the field, Atlanta is at the heart of the matter.
“We’re fortunate to live in Atlanta and to have so many choices in high quality care,” said Julie Webster, a nurse practitioner, who serves as senior director of the Advanced Heart Failure Center for Piedmont Healthcare.
You can easily check the industry’s pulse by looking at the big players in the market. Emory, Piedmont Heart Institute, WellStar Cardiovascular Medicine and Sibley Heart Center Cardiology at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) each have strong reputations. In 2013, Grady opened its Correll Cardiac Center, an 11,000 square foot space with a bevy of catheterization labs, a cardiac stress lab and more. And a growing field means a great need for professionals.
“I’m seeing lots of people entering the field now,” said Paula Sanders, an RN and educator who manages the Correll Cardiac Center. “Heart disease is prevalent in Americans. We’re obese, and we don’t exercise. Obesity is one of the leading causes of heart disease.”
Anne Lawton, who works as a staff nurse in cardiac services at CHOA at Egleston Pediatric Hospital, agrees. “On the nursing side, a lot of times it feels like we need more people,” Lawton said, “and they’re hiring a lot more people in [cardiac care] nursing positions, both experienced and right out of nursing school. The demand is growing because heart disease is so common.”
With medical and technological advancements continuing with no signs of slowing, some agree it’s an exciting time to delve into the field of cardiac care. According to the American Heart Association, the use of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) now adds nearly four additional life years to patients waiting more than six months for heart transplants. And those receiving the latter are now living longer than ever.
“What I do see is that more and more surgeries are becoming progressively more effective, and children who weren’t expected to make it into adulthood are making it,” said Anne Lawton, a staff nurse in cardiac services at CHOA at Egleston. “Emory now has [the Adult Congenital Heart Center] for people born with congenital heart defects. So the fact they have this now speaks volumes on the advances that have been made.”
Those looking to work with these advances can follow several educational paths. For instance, Gwinnett Tech recently began offering its cardiovascular technician program. Students become proficient with the type of imaging technology that helps cardiologists diagnose heart and blood vessel ailments.
Hands-on experience can be had by working with professionals such as Jenna Shackleford. This RN and CPN works as a pediatric clinical instructor for Emory University and the University of North Georgia. This gives students the opportunity to experience new technologies and innovations as well as current guidelines in cardiac care.
“I help teach nursing students how to take care of patients in the clinical setting of a hospital,” Shackleford said. “I have them bring in the theories they’re learning in the classroom and help them apply that in the clinical setting.”
Once they arrive in the workforce, those with an interest in the cardiovascular side of things or who’ve enjoyed their experiences in a cardiac clinical setting often gravitate toward cardiac care. So what are prospective employers in the field looking for?
Webster says she sets her sights on nurses with solid skills set and a strong knowledge base of cardiovascular medicine. Do you have a pathophysiology and understanding of the cardiovascular and disease processes? If so, you might make Webster’s short list. A sense of passion and a strong engagement in the profession also remain key qualities, according to Webster.
“Critical thinking skills are really required to troubleshoot a lot of patient questions, complaints or symptoms,” Webster said. “Patients present these questions to the nurses first. So a nurse needs to be able to direct patients to the right person who can answer their questions.”
When looking at new recruits to work in the catheterization labs at Correll Cardiac Center, Sanders says she leans toward candidates with a willingness to learn. It’s important, she says, for catheterization lab technicians to take ownership of their respective learning, ask questions, absorb knowledge and apply it all in the appropriate setting. Since a catheterization lab is a fast-paced type of procedural area, and a patient can decline rapidly, Sanders says you have to able to think on your feet.
“When I look at a new nurse I look at the fire that they have and what they want to do with it,” Sanders said. “What makes them excited? Do they like fast procedures and sick procedures? Do they mind getting up in the middle of the night and helping someone? What gives them their purpose in life? That’s what I look for. Everything else you can teach, but if you don’t have that drive within yourself, you can’t learn that.”
When Lawton graduated from nursing school, she channeled her own personal passion into a cardiac nursing job at CHOA. This meant bolstering her education with experience.
“When you [begin working] in cardiac ICU [at CHOA], we have cardiovascular nursing classes,” Lawton said, “and it pretty much teaches you everything you didn’t learn in nursing school about this patient population, including their care and medications.”
Next, Lawton said, you orient yourself with experienced nurses for a period of three months. This allows the new professional to get as much coverage in this particular area as possible, while slowly building skills and knowledge in the process.
Although you may be getting your sea legs, experts say you must have the willingness to study and continuously learn as you sail the waters of your career. Some hospitals require those working in cardiac care to pass advance competency tests, which involves studying. However, the proactive desire to constantly enhance your knowledge of the field is essential.
Looking back on her career, Webster cites the importance of digesting as much information as possible in the cardiac field. “I started out as a brand new nurse in a medical surgical unit,” she recalled. “I was interested in [the cardiac] area. Knowing that there was a lot that I didn’t know at the time made me more interested in learning more about cardiac disease. Just within my own career there were opportunities in nursing for advancing and supporting my education. And I think that’s a big part of nursing. We want to continue to learn, grow and advance our careers. And I think cardiac nursing really provides that kind of opportunity.”
Sanders agrees. She says she always encourages the Correll Center staff to attend conferences and stay on top of what’s happening in the field of cardiac care. Healthcare professionals who stay in their own personal bubble run the risk of not acquiring additional information and being blind to the advancements taking place in the cardiac world. Having a link with a school or some sort of educational body is important.
“I also believe you should precept someone,” Sanders said, “Because if you do, you have to keep on top and keep learning. Their questions will always evolve and that’s what cardiology is. It’s always evolving, and there’s always something to learn.”
Never stop asking questions, Sanders stresses. She suggests finding that one mentor who will always answer your inquiries. Sanders aligned herself with a cardiologist who shared her same enthusiasm for the heart and who was willing to help her. In the meantime, Sanders says she often dove head first into cardiac-related text. If she didn’t understand something, she’d bring the question to her mentor.
In the midst of enhancing the craft, the day-to-day challenges remain. Of course, these vary among the various cardiac care disciplines. For a pediatric nurse such as Lawton, the hurdles are specific. It’s difficult, she says, to not get invested in the patients and their families. Some patients have such long and difficult stays in the hospital that it’s hard not to feel for them.
“The main difference is these aren’t normal healthy children who are coming to us because they got sick or because they got their tonsils out,” Lawton said. “In a lot of cases, they’re born sick. And when your heart’s not working right, not much is working right. From an emotional standpoint, you need to be able to take care of yourself while you’re taking care of these kinds of patients so it doesn’t wear on you and effect your job.”
In addition to overcoming such obstacles, Shackleford values a well-rounded approach to cardiac care. Not only should caregivers focus on the physical side of helping a patient live longer, but the social and psychological aspects as well. Working in cardiac care, she says, means being a team player, especially in the area of pediatrics.
“These babies, children and adolescents have such complex healthcare needs,” she said. “It doesn’t just require help from the physician or the nurse, but also help from social workers, child-life specialists, nutritionists and other members of an interdisciplinary team to help the patient successfully live longer. It’s so important to work as a team to provide them high quality care.”
The reward of staying on top of your game and attempting to do the next right thing pays off in dividends, Lawton says. “I enjoy being able to bring comfort to patients and their families when they’ve gone through a lot and will be going through more,” she explained. “And there’s nothing normal about being in a hospital. We just help them to try and have some semblance of normalcy while still making sure they’re OK. I enjoy that.”
