Cath Lab Digest - October 2007 - (Page 40)

40 TECHNOLOGY SNAPSHOT OCTOBER 2007 with thousands of these procedures, as opposed to the physicians, most of whom perhaps do a couple hundred procedures a year. We are better able to keep up with new products and technology. Occasionally we have a physician that has only two cases in a week. A lot can happen in a week with new technology, so we keep them up to date. I would say most of them really do look forward to our suggestions, especially in a tight situation. What are some of the new devices and products that you are seeing in your lab lately? Baker, Jr.: Lately, a lot of the new technology has been in the peripheral world because the peripheral procedures are becoming more and more popular, in our lab especially. I have been at Hackensack a little over two and a half years, and just in that time, the peripheral work has more than doubled. We are seeing anything from new kinds of peripheral stents to new wires and sheaths. For coronary work, you’re trialing the Runthrough NS wire. How are you finding it? Baker, Jr.: For the most part, the coronary guidewires have all been sort of comparable. There are the specialty wires and there are the typical workhorse type of wires such as the BMW. So when we first received the Runthrough wire, we figured that it would be another specialty wire that we will use once or twice a week for special situations. But it has proven to be the exact opposite. This wire can be your workhorse wire and can also serve as your specialty wire. It has multiple capabilities, based on what I have seen in several dozen cases. What conclusions have you drawn? Baker, Jr.: The Runthrough is very durable. Some of the wire tips, when you are trying to get across a tortuous vessel or a tight blockage, tend to get a little banged up and not work as well, whereas we have yet to see that happen to the Runthrough wire in the different types of lesions we have tried. So far it’s the most durable wire I’ve ever come across. Also, every time you have to change a wire, it’s an additional cost. If you can just use one wire for the entire case, that’s obviously going to cut back on costs and the need to use multiple wires on a single-vessel type of case. It’s a little shocking to think about. Where has this technology been? The fact that this wire is shapeable and crosses lesions with ease, and when you’re finished with the procedure and take the wire out, it looks exactly the same as when you put it in is just phenomenal. Many of the wires, when you take them out at the procedure end or if the wire won’t work, have a completely beat up and mangled tip. In these cases, you have to use another wire, or even a second or third wire after that. With the Runthrough, we seem to have only needed one. ■ Charlie Baker, Jr. can be contacted at charlesbaker@humed.com We are right there by their side, so a lot of physicians look to us as their assistant, so to speak, to recommend or suggest anything. I would say most of them really do look forward to our suggestions, especially in a tight situation. CLD Survey 2007 SALARY SURVEY RETURN SURVEYS TO: Tak eo ww ON ur sur w.c ath LINE a vey lab dig t est .co m! We encourage your participation in the Cath Lab Digest salary survey! Anyone working in the cath lab can participate. Results will be published in the December 2007 issue of CLD. CathLabDigest@aol.com or via fax at (216) 393-0445. In order for your survey to be included, you MUST answer all questions. 1. Are you a: (check all that apply) ❏ RCIS ❏ RN ❏ RT(R) ❏ Manager/Supervisor ❏ Director ❏ CVT ❏ CCRN ❏ Other: (please specify) 2. Your region: (check all that apply) ❏ Midwest (IA, IL, IN, MI, MO, MS, OH, WI) ❏ Pacific Coast (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA) ❏ New England/Middle Atlantic (CN, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VE, Wash, DC) ❏ Middle South/South (AL, AR, FL, GE, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV) ❏ Central/Southwest (AZ, CO, ID, KS, MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, OK, SD, TX, UT, WY) 3. Years of experience in the cath lab: ❏ “Newbie” (12 mos or less) ❏ Intermediate (1-10 years) ❏ Long-term (10+ years) 4. Is the Registered Cardiovascular Invasive Specialist (RCIS) credential required at your lab? ❏ Yes ❏ Not required, but encouraged ❏ No 5. Do you receive additional financial compensation after obtaining the RCIS credential? ❏ Yes, we receive ❏ No 6. I am paid: Hourly ❏ No 7. Do you get a per-case rate? ❏ Yes, we receive per case 8. In the past year, I received the following increase/bonus: ❏ Annual Wage Increase (%) ❏ Nothing ❏ Retention ❏ Referral ❏ New Hire IF YOU ARE A MANAGER, please supply salary information below for all staff positions at your lab: Salary for: Newbie (12 mos or less) Intermediate (1-10 years) Long-term (10+years) RCIS RN CCRN RT(R) CVT Other (please specify) http://www.cathlabdigest.com http://www.cathlabdigest.com

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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