EP Lab Digest - May 2008 - (Page 34)

34 EMAIL DISCUSSION GROUP MAY 2008 Email Discussion Group: May 2008 “Work Schedule” in your subject line.) We start our shifts at 0600 and the contracted employees get off at 1630 (10-hour shifts). There is always one call team to stay, and on our busier days, there are two call teams. I can't imagine staring at 7:30 and expecting to be done in 8 hours. How many cases are we talking per day, and how many rooms, just EP or devices as well? — Alison D. Swarens W elcome to the May 2008 edition of the email discussion group. As you will see, the “EP lab work schedule” question is a hot topic this month! If you would like to join in on the discussion, please email us at eplabdigest@hotmail.com or visit us at www.eplabdigest.com (click on the email discussion First of all, what hours did you used to group link). Remember, when posting or responding to work in the EP lab? Do you want to work the discussion group, please let us know if you would like your name, location, and/or email address listed. We look longer hours and get paid the overtime? Is your EP lab busy? Do you have call personforward to hearing from you! couple of months.This is a decision that is widely unpopular with our nurses and techs. I am wondering if any other EP labs work 8-hour shifts (all 7–3:30) 5 days a week, and if so, what has been your experience with this scheduling format? Any pros, cons, suggestions? — Lee Henry, RN (To reply to this question, please type New Questions: EP Schools I was wondering if someone can let me know if there are any EP schools other than the Carnegie Institute in Troy, Michigan? I live in upstate New York. — Ross Scardino (To reply to this question, please type “EP Schools” in your subject line.) Operators Do other EP labs have both nurses and RTs operate the EnSite ablation computers and the diagnosis EKG computers (like Bard), or are these usually operated by just the RTs? — name withheld by request (To reply to this question, please type “Operators” in your subject line.) Diastolic Time Indices I am a cardiology fellow at the University of Utah. My question is why aren’t abnormal phonocardiographic indices such as pre-atrial diastolic time and accelerated atrial diastolic time in heart failure used? Is the shortened diastolic time due solely to the abnormal systolic time intervals (prolonged EMD)? — Osman Ahmed, MD, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (To reply to this question, please type “Diastolic Time Indices” in your subject line.) nel to cover late cases? The reason I am asking all of these questions is because I want to see what the problem or issue is. I work in an EP lab that has one shift. Most of the staff that are scheduled to work EP work either from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm or from 8:00 am until 4:30 pm. However, if you are assigned to EP that day (two of us work mostly EP), you stay until the work is done. I have had some days where I work 7:00 am or 7:30 am until 9:00 pm or almost 11:00 pm. Granted, those longer days are not as many as other days where we work until 6:00-8:00 pm, but they are long days. Sometimes it wreaks havoc on your personal life. For instance, I am going to graduate school and I do my classwork in the evenings. I have a husband and two teens that I like to spend some time with. I struggle with getting exercise in and meeting up with friends sometimes. Sometimes, I am just too tired to do anything at all after I get home from work. Also, EP is getting busier. EP is frequently busier than the cath lab. We are going to be starting an atrial fibrillation program down the road, and the days are going to be quite long, especially at the beginning. I like what I do, but I am not as thrilled with the hours any longer. This is how things are where I work. If you need the longer hours, I can point you in the right direction. — name withheld by request Our lab at Providence Hospital in Columbia, South Carolina has been doing 8hour shifts Monday through Friday for a long time. It is not too difficult, because we only See EMAIL DISCUSSION page 36 Don’t Miss Out! The North American Center for Continuing Medical Education (NACCME) is currently offering the following free activities: Complimentary Accredited Web Archive: Frontiers in 3D Imaging: Role in Today's Electrophysiology Practice Supported by an educational grant from Philips Medical Systems. This activity has been developed for physicians. Expires June 3, 2008 Complimentary Accredited Web Archive: Advanced Tools Allowing Dynamic Registration as a Guide for Complex Left Atrial Ablations This activity is supported by an educational grant from St. Jude Medical. This activity has been developed for physicians, nurses, and technologists. Expires April 1, 2009 On-Demand WebCast: Infection Prevention for Minimally Invasive Interventions: This activity is supported by an educational grant from Enturia. Vascular surgeons, interventional radiologists, interventional cardiologists, cath lab staff members, electrophysiologists, and wound care specialists Under Discussion: EP Lab Work Schedule Our EP lab will be going to 8hour shifts, 5 days a week in a Find it online at: www.naccme.com/cardiology/ http://www.eplabdigest.com http://www.naccme.com/cardiology/

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EP Lab Digest - May 2008

EP Lab Digest - May 2008 Is There an Under-Referral of Women for Atrial Fibrillation Ablation? A Hybrid Approach to the Cure of Atrial Fibrillation Contents Letter from the Editor Spotlight Interview: University of Michigan Health System 10-Minute Interview: Amit J. Shanker, MD Modular EP Units: Are They Possible? One Hospital’s Experience All About My Job: Technician Supervisor (New Column!) Alcohol Septal Ablation in the Cath Lab: What is it All About? About the Canadian Heart Rhythm Society: Interview with Martin J. Gardner, MD, FRCP(C), FACC Email Discussion Group: May 2008 Second Annual Salary Survey My First Year in Electrophysiology: What Have I Got Myself Into? Highlight on Technology: Video-Audio Integration for the EP Lab On the Horizon: A New Remote Catheter Manipulation System Striving for Excellence in the Care of Cardiac Patients Five Reasons to Participate with a Professional Organization Suspected Shunting of Defibrillation Energy in the EP Lab Can Digital Music Players Cause Interference with Implantable Devices? ECG 101: Ambulatory ECG Monitoring Events Calendar Industry News and Products Classifieds Advertisers Index

EP Lab Digest - May 2008

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