Vascular Nurse, Cardiovascular Nursing Schools, Education, Training, Jobs, and Careers

What is a Vascular Nurse?
In the United States, cardiovascular disease is one of the leading cause of death. A vascular or cardiovascular nurse cares for people who have heart disease and they interact with their patients' families. This nurse also monitors as well as treats acutely ill patients. They may also prioritize on cardiac rehabilitation, that is, they help patients make changes to their lifestyle in order to prevent their disease from worsening.

If you want to become a vascular nurse, it is going to require detailed knowledge of an ever-changing and complex field and exceptional skills in critical care nursing.

Many cardiovascular clinical nurse specialists, or CNSs, work in hospitals. You will find them caring for the critically ill patients and those who are recovering from various cardiac procedures such as angioplasty, bypass or pacemaker surgery. The cardiovascular nurse may also help a patient recover in their own home. You will find them working with children and adults of every age, but heart disease usually affects old people.

The cardiovascular nurse works as part of a team with a cardiologist as the director of the team. Here are some of their responsibilities:

• Assessing and treating patients
• Monitoring stress test evaluations
• Educating patients and their families
• Providing postoperative care
• Monitoring cardiac and vascular readings
• Supporting patient lifestyle changes

Cardiovascular Nurse Education:
Cardiovascular nurses, who are also called cardiac nurses or vascular/cardiac nurses, are, first of all, registered nurses. The best way to advance your career is to attend an accredited four-year nursing school in order to get your Bachelor of Science degree or BSN. You may also attend a two-year college and get your associate's degree but, in the end, you will still have to turn your RN into a BSN.

In order to be able to sit for the vascular/cardiac nurse certification exam, you are going to have to complete a certain amount of time in continuing education and you will have to spend a minimum of 2,000 hours in clinical practice.

This certification exam can be taken through the organization called the American Nurses Credentialing Center, or ANCC. In a lot of states, certification is a requirement and in others, it is recommended.

If you want to further your education, you may want to consider completing a Master of Science degree in nursing, also known as MSN degree. This will entitle you to the title of a cardiovascular clinical nurse specialist or a CNS. You will have to attend a minimum of two years of graduate study. You will then have to be recognized by the nursing board in your state as an advanced practice nurse or APN.

Cardiovascular Nurse Career Outlook:
At this time, there is a demand for cardiovascular clinical nurse specialists or CNSs. As with just about every aspect in the nursing field, the need for cardiovascular nurses is going to rise over the next ten years. As the population ages, and with all the advances that are being made in cardiac care technology, opportunities are rising exponentially in the vascular nursing field.

Vascular Nurse Salary:
Those nurses who are certified in cardiovascular nursing earn much more than those nurses without these credentials. The national average pay is $74,000 per year. Those with certification make as much as $86,000 per year.

Vascular Nursing School:
What can you say about any nursing career, other than it’s a hot. You can find a good number of schools offering programs. We have one we think you will like.

The school is University of Phoenix. It is regarded as the leading innovator in distance learning.

You need to check them out. You can get their free no obligation information by following this link.

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