The main determinants of the salary of a cardiovascular technologist are the specialization and place of employment. This article focuses on the pay ranges and work profile in this field.
A role of a cardiovascular technologist relates to working under the supervision of doctors, for diagnosing and examining the health complications of patients regarding the heart, blood vessels, and other cardiovascular diseases. Generally, this field has three principal specializations, which largely have an impact on the responsibilities of these professionals. Those are vascular technology; echocardiography, also known as electrocardiogram (EKG) technology; and invasive cardiology. Being a medical job, the salary in this field is respectable.
Pay Ranges
As with any other job, the annual salary varies according to the work experience, location, employer type, education, and similar other factors.
Work Experience
Those with one to four years of experience can expect to get an annual pay between USD 36,000 to USD 56,000. Those who have five to nine years of experience, can demand a pay between USD 58,000 to USD 84,000 per year. Professionals who have more than 10 years of experience can be eligible for a maximum annual pay of around USD 90,000.
Employer
Those who are employed in a hospital, can earn ranging from USD 36,000 to USD 51,000 per year. Whereas, those providing services in private medical care facilities can receive a higher pay ranging from USD 56,000 to USD 75,000 per year. In medical and diagnostic laboratories, the median annual pay is estimated to be around USD 58,000.
Location
The pay scale may even vary according to the city of employment. Charlotte and Chicago are recorded to be the highest payers with a median salary of USD 63,000 and USD 62,000 respectively. Cities such as Nashville, Houston, and Indianapolis have an average annual pay of USD 57,000, USD 52,000, and USD 58,000 respectively. In Atlanta, the median pay is USD 54,000 per annum; in Phoenix, the average pay falls somewhere around USD 48,000; whereas in Orlando, the salary is around USD 43,000 per year. Miami has a low median pay at about USD 40,000 per annum.
Job Description
A cardiovascular technologist has to operate medical equipment for recording the patient’s heart condition. He also monitors the patient’s blood pressure and notifies the doctor if there is any abnormality in the rate. Before the medical testing procedures, he discusses with the patient about the need of the tests, for gaining necessary cooperation in the testing processes. He has to record all the details of the examinations, and prepare clear and precise reports to be understood by the doctors for further references and treatments.
Those specializing in echocardiography have to work on electrocardiogram (EKG) machines for getting the readings. They have to attach the electrodes to the patient’s body parts and make connections to the EKG machine. Changing the settings of the testing equipment according to the requirements of the doctor is also one of the duties of these specialists. Some may have to work on imaging machines to obtain radiographs of the heart, and maintain medical records.
The duties mentioned in this article are the basic work that these professionals do. There are many other tasks which are supposed to be done, depending on the specialization. Also, note that the salary ranges are rough estimates, which may differ as per changing market conditions.