Cardiology offers various career paths, including physicians, nurses, technicians, and technologists. Specializations include echocardiography, interventional cardiology, electrophysiology, and nuclear cardiology. Pediatric cardiology follows a different path, and there are also careers in critical care and pediatric nursing. Training times vary, and there are options for those who want to specialize or work in general cardiology.
There are many careers in cardiology that include various subspecialties in cardiology studies performed by physicians. However, this field is not just limited to physicians – people interested in cardiology careers can be physician assistants, medical technicians or technologists, registered nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. The main areas of cardiology, which could employ any of these medical professionals, are divided between cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery. Also, there is a distinction, in most cases, between people who work in cardiology/cardiac surgery and pediatric cardiology/pediatric cardiothoracic surgery.
People who plan to work as physicians in adult cardiology typically spend three years after becoming physicians learning about internal medicine before taking up a three-year cardiology residency. Those who stop at the three-year point in this residency are often referred to as cardiologists and would likely work in physicians’ offices with patients who need medical examination and intervention. Cardiologists have the option of specializing in some types of intervention or testing, although it should be noted that not all physicians specialize and they may still perform many of the tests or procedures performed by cardiology subspecialists. Additionally, a specialist physician may have a thriving practice and treat patients who do not necessarily need the physician’s area of expertise.
With further study, a physician can become an echocardiologist, and their career can include studying and performing echocardiograms (ultrasounds or ultrasounds of the heart), which can be performed directly on the chest wall or using a Doppler scan of the esophagus called an echocardiogram transesophageal (TEE). Another career in cardiology that can become a specialty area is interventional cardiology. Interventional cardiologists may be more specialized in performing procedures such as cardiac catheterization and any related enlargement of veins through balloon angiography or through stent placement.
On the other hand, electrophysiologists are more experts at diagnosing heart rhythm problems and treating them. Treatment may include catheterization that reaches the heart to eliminate or get rid of tissue causing arrhythmias. Other cardiologists specialize in nuclear cardiology and are experts in performing tests such as stress tests that can diagnose various types of heart disease or damage.
These same subspecialties recur in pediatric cardiology, but the path and focus are slightly different. Pediatric cardiologists finish medical school and then compete in a three-year residency in pediatrics. A three-year residency in pediatric cardiology follows this, and the decision to pursue a subspecialty may mean another year or two of study. Cardiothoracic surgeons also follow different training paths, learning general surgery first, before specializing in cardiology or pediatric surgery, and then cardiothoracic surgery.
Trained medical professionals support any cardiology practice, and there are cardiology careers for critical care or pediatric nurses. Some physician assistants may also specialize in this area. Critical care nurses could work specifically in cardiac units and therefore have cardiology careers. A variety of technician and technologist jobs also become careers in cardiology. There are echocardiogram technicians, for example, who have been trained in radiology and have received advanced training on performing echocardiograms, which are then reviewed by physicians.
In surgery, additional careers in cardiology are no less diverse. Nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and registered nurses can assist surgeons or anesthesiologists who work primarily in cardiac cases. In particular, nursing professionals often work in pediatric cardiology surgery as an additional layer of communication between surgeons and families who have children who require surgical procedures. Operating rooms are also filled with a variety of surgical assistants and nurses.
It is quite obvious to see that there are many careers in cardiology. Which ones are of most interest may depend on the individual and how long it would take to train for each job. Those considering cardiothoracic surgery or simply any cardiac medical specialty can wait years to master the necessary skills. While these jobs are at the top of the pay scale, there are also cardiology careers that require less training, such as registered nursing or echo tech. Many find these areas of work quite interesting and know that their work is vital to the practice of this medical field.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
