Cath Lab Digest - October 2007 - (Page 19)

19 We have an alliance with the Lahey Clinic (Burlington, MA) which is our tertiary oversight hospital for the CPORT Trial. We attend and sponsor joint educational programs with both Lahey Clinic and Lowell General Hospital (Lowell, MA). How are new employees oriented and trained at your facility? What licensure is required for all professionals who work in your lab? All new employees go through hospital orientation. New staff are also assigned a preceptor for 12 weeks (unless experienced). The length of time varies based on previous clinical experience and education. Staff are also sent to Lahey Clinic, our tertiary center, for angioplasty training. All staff are ACLSand BLS-certified and licensed in their respective profession(s): RN, Registered Cardiovascular Invasive Specialist (RCIS), RT(R), etc. Multiple staff members are also ACLS and BLS instructors. Does your lab have a clinical ladder? The hospital is working on obtaining Magnet status from the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center (an affiliate of the American Nurses Association). With the Magnet status designation comes clinical ladders. The ladder steps require staff to obtain certifications, participate in quality-driven projects and other participation focusing on shared governance and research to move up the ladder and obtain financial rewards. This happens in tiers. We also strongly encourage the staff to obtain RCIS certification. This is one of the goals our educator is pursuing with the staff. What type of continuing education opportunities are provided to staff members? Saints Medical Center presently offers an on-site RN-BSN program. Seventy-five percent of the tuition is paid for students in this program. We are currently negotiating a BSNMSN program to be offered at the hospital. We also offer a loan forgiveness program for new RNs and tuition reimbursement for all staff. Our educator is working with all staff to help them obtain their RCIS licensure. We also provide in-house as well as vendor inservices related to our field. How is staff competency evaluated? Competency evaluation is ongoing due to the constant changes and updates in technology. We have 10 unit-based competencies completed annually. Due to the study programs, we also have monthly inservices on our research and equipment such as the intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP). How does your lab handle call time for staff members? Our cath lab call team consists of 3 people: a scrub, circulator, and a monitor. Since we are not a teaching hospital, one of the team members is second assistant during all cases. The team is multi-disciplinary, but must have one RN and one RT present at all times. If called in overnight, staff is offered compensated sleep time. Our workday shifts are self-scheduled and staff works either 8-, 9-, 10-, or 12-hour blocks of time, depending on their scheduling needs. How do you handle vendor visits to your lab? Vendors must call ahead to obtain an appointment and book time within the lab. When they arrive to the hospital, they report to the front desk, are verified and registered with a visitor pass, then brought to the lab. Our vendors are very proactive about offering in-services and updates for staff on new equipment as well as any time there is a request from the educator and/or manager. What trends do you see emerging in the practice of invasive cardiology? Increased peripheral interventions, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, congestive heart failure clinics and the expansion of electrophysiology programs within cardiology divisions. We also anticipate increased IVUS use for appropriate apposition and sizing of stents. Has your lab has undergone a Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) inspection in the past three years? We are presently preparing for a JCAHO inspection within the year. We are focusing on new JCAHO guidelines for labeling of fluids, preprocedure note with ASA (American Society of Anesthesia) classification, airway assessments, and fall risk, as well as all patient safety goals for 2007 and 2008. Dave Green, RN, BSN, EMTP, prepares a patient for a procedure. Director of the Cath Lab to review any peri-procedural outcomes. Does your lab utilize any alternative therapies (such as guided imagery, etc.)? We offer a wide selection of music to be played during the procedure to help relax patients and we are awaiting the arrival of decorative ceiling tiles to replace the florescent light ceiling panels. Does your cath lab do electives on weekends and or holidays? Currently we only perform primary angioplasty on weekends and holidays with our on-call staff. Occasionally we have come in for electives on minor holidays. How does your cath lab compete for patients? Has your institution formed an alliance with others in the area? To compete for patients we advertise by a variety of media outlets (newspaper, television commercials, hospital newsletters). We also offer free educational seminars to our community, which have been extremely well-received and appreciated, as evidenced by enrollment and turnout. We have received many letters from participants asking for additional programs to be offered. The hospital also meets with our cardiologists to receive input about their needs so we can try to accommodate them.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Cath Lab Digest - October 2007

Saints Medical Center Fibromuscular Dysplasia in Children and Adolescents Cerebral Vascular Accident Following a Pulmonary Embolism: Search for the Hidden Patent Foramen Ovale Contents Clinical Editor’s Corner Meetings Calendar CEU Education Center Radiation Tracking in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab Letter to the Editor Carotid Stenting: An update Release from Stent-jail: Beneficial Snow-Plowing? Patient Management Guidelines Searching for a Cardiovascular Position? Tips for Creating a ‘Stand-Out’ Resume Long-Term Implications of Short-Term Closure Decisions – The Evolution to Vascular Access Management and the Boomerang Catalyst System The Ten-Minute Interview with… Angie Bowles, RN, CCRN CMS Issues Final FY 2008 IPPS Rule ACVP• Membership Page Experience with a New Workhorse Guidewire Ask the Clinical Instructor: Q&A for Those New to Cath Lab A Glimpse of the Future of Clinical Education: Boston Scientific’s SimSuite Bus Visits Carnegie Institute 2007 Educational Fair Held at the Washington Hospital Center Research Update: Original Contribution Abstracts from The Journal of Invasive Cardiology What Do You Think? A Virtual Cath Lab Viewer (VCL): The Development of an Online 3D C-arm Simulator and Coronary Anatomy Viewer Clinical & Industry News Cost-Effectiveness of the Radial versus Femoral Artery Approach to Diagnostic Cardiac Catheterization

Cath Lab Digest - October 2007

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