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Perfusionist Career
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Perfusionist Job Description
Perfusionists work with surgeons and anesthesiologists to sustain normal heart and lung function during cardiac surgeries, orthopedic surgeries, vascular operations and other surgical/medical procedures.
Prior to the surgery, a perfusionist will sterilize the equipment and ensure that all the machines, instruments and devices are working properly. During the procedure, he will administer the drugs and supervise the heart-lung machines to make sure that the patient’s vital parameters (blood pressure, temperature, pulse, etc) are normal.
A perfusionist also makes adjustments in the monitoring devices during the surgeries and utilizes various equipments/machines to increase blood circulation and strengthen the heart function during the recovery phase. He/she also uses medical devices to control carbon dioxide and oxygen levels during surgical procedures.
During times of emergency, when heart or lung failure occurs, perfusionists are indispensable. They are very important for their medical know-how and astute expertise to save the patient’s life.
Perfusionist Skills/Duties
Fundamentally, a perfusionist’s job entails working with surgeons and anesthesiologists to uphold normal heart and lung function during various surgical procedures. Perfusionists operate heart-lung machines, which carry out the functions of the patient's heart and lungs during the surgery. Perfusionists control machines to adjust blood circulation and composition, normalize body temperature, and administer drugs. They also communicate to the team how the patient is fairing.
In addition to having brilliant decision making and communication skills, perfusionists must have adequate knowledge about heart devices like pacemakers and defibrillators.
Meticulousness, accuracy, precision and extreme attention to detail are very important, since, they have to continually monitor the patients’ health during long and complex surgical procedures.
Importantly, perfusionists must be able to work properly in a team and should communicate vital information to surgeons, anesthesiologists and other medical/para-medical staff regarding the patient's health status.
As part of their job, perfusionists must evaluate the patients' medical history and current status, and also check the heart-lung machine and related equipment before the procedure.
Typically, a perfusionist works about 40 hours per week. Because perfusionists principally work in hospitals, they may be on-call in cases of an emergencies or immediate open-heart surgeries.
Perfusionist Education and Training
• Perfusionists need to acquire a Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree or Certificate in Perfusion Science, depending on their job’s requirement.
• An applicant must graduate from an accredited training school in Cardio-Vascular Perfusion by the time of the examination. He should also have conducted a minimum of 75 perfusions during the education and training process and should have obtained a letter of satisfactory clinical competency from the Medical school.
• Students also study the most recent perfusionist technologies, devices, trends and research methods to help save patients’ lives.
• Certification as a perfusionist can be acquired by passing a written exam given by the America Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion.
• Importantly, constant education and learning, throughout the career is an essential part of the training program.
Perfusionist Job Outlook
Employment of perfusionists is estimated to increase during the years 2008-18. Hospitals will continue to employ a large number of perfusionists, and they will always be needed in hospitals for surgeries / medical procedures.
Perfusionist Salary
The average salary of a perfusionist is approximately $77,000 per year. The earnings vary depending on factors, such as geographic location, experience and bonuses.
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