Perfusionist, Perfusion Schools, Training, Jobs, and Careers

What is a Perfusionist?
A very instrumental member of a surgery team is one who is called a perfusionist. This member of the team's duty is to provide the patient with extracorporeal circulation so that the surgeon is able to operate on a non-beating heart.

A certified perfusionist operates the heart-lung machine that is commonly used for pulmonary bypass for a number of cardiothoracic procedures such as valve repair and organ donation. It is their job, during the course of the surgery, to maintain the patient in a stable condition.

He or she can also provide medications, administer blood products and use other measures to make sure that the patient remains in stable condition during the surgery. This helps the patient when he or she is weaned off the heart bypass machine. The patient’s heart will then be able to take over full function from the heart-lung machine.

You should also probably possess the following traits:

1. Maintain focus on complex tasks for a long period of time
2. Communicate effectively and rapidly
3. Maintain calmness under pressure
4. Have the ability of paying close attention to detail

How to Become a Perfusionist:
First of all, if you cannot stand the sight of blood, then perhaps you had better rethink your position about becoming a perfusionist. You must complete a program as well as pass a certification examination that demonstrates complete competency in the field.

The first step on the road to becoming one is to complete a Bachelor of Science degree in a field like biological sciences, respiratory therapy, nursing or medical technology. During your four years of study, you will probably take such courses as:

a. Biology
b. Medical Terminology
c. Chemistry
d. Psychology
e. Microbiology
f. Electrophysiology
g. Microbiology

After you have obtained your bachelor's degree, you can now attend a cardiac perfusion program, a two-year training program. This program will provide you with a master's in perfusion. This will include not only classroom experience, but clinical training and actual operating room experience while being supervised by a fully trained professional.

Before you choose a school, make certain that this school is accredited. It should be accredited in the country in which you are seeking certification, just like the American Academy of Cardiovascular Perfusion.

The reason it is so important to graduate from an accredited school is that you may not be eligible for certification if you did not graduate from a program that was an accredited cardiac perfusion program.

After you graduate, you are allowed to take the exam so that you may become a certified clinical perfusionist or CCP. Sometimes if a person has board-eligible status after he has graduated but is not yet certified, she or he can work as a perfusionist as long as he intends to take the certification exam in the near future. This will allow him to gain valuable work experience before having to take the certification exam to become a certified.

Perfusionist Salary:
Perfusionists make mucho money. The national average pay is $94,000 per year. We know of those that make as much as $109,000 per year. Of course, this kind of money depends on your location and level of responsibility.

Perfusion School:
You don’t have a lot of schools offering the perfusion degree program. The best way to find one is to visit the Embanet website. There, you will be able to find schools in your area or online. You need to click this link to get started.

Return from Perfusionist to Medical Assistants Schools and Careers