Cardiac Nursing

Cardiac nursing includes many sub-specialty areas that relate to patients with heart problems. Since the heart is vital to life, the cardiac nurse must be skilled in all areas that pertain to heart function so that they can help to heal or to treat conditions such as unstable angina, cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction and cardiac dysrhythmia among others. Cardiac nurses work in arenas such as coronary care units (CCU), cardiac catheterisation laboratories (CCL), intensive care units (ICU), operating theaters, cardiac rehabilitation, research, cardiac surgical wards, cardiac medical wards and other environments where heart care is a focus or is part of another procedure.

Duties of a Cardiac Nurse

While many cardiac nurses work on teams that provide a collaborative approach to patient care, these nurses also are expected to have specialized skills such as electrocardiogram telemetry monitoring, advanced cardiac life support, defibrillation and medication administration by continuous intravenous drip. Additionally, cardiac nurses interact with patients, families, visitors, and all members of the health care team to develop, coordinate and manage the plan of care. The cardiac nurse must be able to demonstrate knowledge of the principles of life span growth and development and assess data reflective of the patient’s status.

Since heart care, like cancer care, is a growing field thanks to research, the cardiac nurse must stay informed about new developments. In some working environments, evidence-based practice and nursing research is an important part of cardiac nursing practice. In these cases, nurses in all roles become engaged in inquiry, discovery and innovation. Often, support for nursing research is provided by a designated nurse researcher for experienced and novice cardiac nurses.

Physical therapy plays a role with cardiac nurses as well, as they meet the needs for education and support of patients with coronary heart disease who are making lifestyle changes to prevent worsening of the disease. They often monitor patients during physical workouts to prevent overexertion and/or injury. These practices require the cardiac nurse to develop strong educational cardiac assessment skills.

Related Types of Nurses

Cardiac nurses may go on to work as case managers who manage a team of cardiac nurses. Or, they may become clinical educators, providing staff training and making sure newly hired nurses are following treatment protocols. The specialty also needs research nurses who can investigate factors affecting heart disease outcomes and conduct clinical trials so that new treatments for heart problems can be developed. And there are opportunities to move up into administrative and managerial positions, such as clinical managers. Critical care nurses also are in demand, and this career is very similar to cardiac nursing.

Cardiac Nursing Degrees

Nurses who seek a cardiac nursing position must have current Registered Nurse (RN) license or eligible to sit for the a licensure exam, although in many cases a BSN degree and RN license is preferred. In most cases, qualifying nurses may need to complete orientation and competency requirements, obtain/maintain CPR certification, and possible ACLS, PALS, NRP, certifications based on specific work units.

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Top 10 Online Nursing Schools

RN to BSN RN to MSN MSN - Nurse Administration More...	Kaplan University — Bachelor's, and Master's Nursing Degrees. Kaplan's School of Nursing offers specializations for nurse administrators and nurse educators.
LPN to RN LPN to BSN RN to BSN Click for more...	The College Network — Various Degrees from Accredited Universities. Earn your LPN/LVN to RN, LPN to BSN, RN to BSN, RN to MSN and MSN degrees via the College Network and its NLNAC/CCNE accredited university partners with No Campus Attendance, No Wait List, and locally precepted clinicals. Learn at your place and your pace in half the time and cost of traditional programs.
RN to BSN MS in Nursing Nursing Healthcare Certificate More...	University of Phoenix — BSN, MSN, and Certificate. The University of Phoenix is the nation's largest online university and currently offers several nursing programs at three different degree levels, based on previous nursing education and experience.
BS in Nursing RN to MSN BSN to MSN More...	Walden University — M.S. in Nursing (RN Track), M.S in Nursing (BSN Track). Walden offers a wide variety of nursing degrees and certificates that are all accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
BS in Nursing MSN - Nursing Education MSN - Nursing Management	Herzing University — BS in Nursing, MSN - Nursing Education, and MSN - Nursing Management. The BS in Nursing provides license holding nurses with a diploma the opportunity to improve their knowledge and skills on various topics in the nursing field, while the MSN degrees offer further opportunities for specialization.
BS in Nursing MSN - Acute Care	Liberty University — RN to BSN Degree and MSN Degree. The Department of Nursing at Liberty prepares students for baccalaureate level nursing, putting strong emphasis on Christian ethical standards and viewing nursing as a ministry of caring.
MSN - Adult Nursing MSN - CNS/Educator MSN - Nurse Administrator More...	University of Cincinnati — Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to BSN). The University of Cincinnati College of Nursing prepares its nursing students for working with 21st century healthcare technologies to improve patient quality and administer healthcare procedures.
RN to BSN MS in Nursing	Chamberlain College of Nursing — MSN and BSN. Because of the Web-based education that Chamberlain provides, students are able to earn their nursing degree at their own pace. From Chamberlain, students can choose from either a bachelor's degree level or master's degree level, depending on previous experience.
LPN to BSN RN to BSN	Indiana State University — LPN to BSN and RN to BSN. Indiana State offers concentrations in the areas of family nurse practitioner, nursing administration, and nursing education.
RN to BSN MSN - Nurse Educator PhD - Nurse Educator More...	Capella University — BSN, MSN, and PhD in Nursing Education. Capella prides itself on being an accredited online college. With its nurse education programs, Capella offers two levels, master's and PhD. Either is optimal for the working nurse who wants to enter a role as educator in the field.
RN to BSN MSN - Nurse Education MSN - Nurse Leadership More...	Grand Canyon University — BS in Nursing (BSN) and MBA/MS in Nursing. Grand Canyon University offers a unique MBA/MS in nursing degree program that teaches students about the business aspect of healthcare, specifically nursing healthcare. Current nurses who want more business experience will find this may be an ideal fit.
RN to BSN MS in Nursing MSN - Nurse Education More...	South University — RN to BSN and MS in Nursing. The nursing programs at South University prepares its student for professions in a wide variety of healthcare settings, including hospitals, nursing homes, and school health clinics.
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