1. Specialization tasks
2. Pathway
3. Common job scopes
4. Common terms
5. Career opportunities
Cardiology is a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the heart as well as parts of the circulatory system the field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology. Physicians who specialize in cardiac surgery are called cardiothoracic surgeons or cardiac surgeons. The supporting role of the surgeons and physicians are cardiology nurses.
Although the cardiovascular system is inextricably linked to blood, cardiology is relatively unconcerned with hematology and its diseases. Some obvious exceptions that affect the function of the heart would be blood tests, decreased oxygen carrying capacity, and coagulopathies.
All cardiologists study the disorders of the heart and all cardiology nurses are trained to take care of either adult or children conditions. This is due to differing aspects of training for adult and paediatric physiology. Surgical aspects are not included in cardiology and are in the domain of cardiothoracic surgery.
For example, coronary artery bypass surgery and cardiopulmonary bypass are both surgical procedures performed by surgeons, and not cardiologists. As a nurse, your task will be that of assisting the cardiologists in this matter. A properly-trained cardiology nurse would have the necessary critical thinking in order to draw conclusions to make meaningful impact of treatment.
Common tasks in the wards that you might have to do include the insertion of stents, pacemakers, and valves.
Cardiology is a specialty of internal medicine. To be a cardiology nurse, a three-year work experience followed by a post-basic or relevant course is required. It is possible to sub-specialize in Malaysia. Recognized sub-specialties in cardiology for Malaysia are cardiac electrophysiology, echocardiography, interventional cardiology, and nuclear cardiology.
Currently there is insufficient data for Malaysia, for salary, but it is guaranteed to be higher or on par with other similar nursing specialists.
Cardiology is a vast field. Not only does it involve the heart and its systems, it also involves supporting systems such as haematology and its diseases. It is important to know and train for this when pursuing this specialization.
This is the science of elucidating, diagnosing, and treating the electrical activities of the heart. The term is usually used to desccribe studies of such phenomena by invasive catheter recording of spontaneous activity as well as of cardiac responses to programmed electrical stimulations. These studies are performed to assess complex arrythmias, relieve symptoms, evauate abnormal ECGs, assess risk of developing arrhythmias in the future, and to design treatment.
The cardiology nurse is able to carry out cardiac examinations of patients. It is performed as part of a physical examination, or when a patient presents with chest pain suggestive of a cardiovascular pathology. It would typically be modified depending on the indication and integrated with other examinations especially the respiratory examination. Like all medical examinations, the cardiac examination follows the standard structure of inspection, palpation, and auscultation.
Paediatric cardiology is a specialty of paediatrics. To be a paediatric cardiology nurse, one must complete at least three years of registered working experience and pass all the required courses. Adult cardiology certifications are not valid due to differences in physiology in children.
Common complications that you will see as a nurse practicing paediatric cardiology are paediatric hypertension, paediatric hyperlipidemia, heart palpitations and arryhthmias.
Diagnostic tests in cardiology are the methods of identifying heart conditions associated with healthy vs. unhealthy pathology heart function. It is commonly started by obtaining a medical history, followed by auscultation. Blood tests soon precede after, and imaging can be done on a need-to-do basis.
It is the most common congenital ehart disease arising in 1-3 cases per 1000 births. The cause of this defect is a ventricular septal defect and an overriding aorta. These two defects combined causes deoxygenated blood to bypass the lungs and going right back into the circulatory system. The modified Blalock-Taussig is used as a treatment for this condition.
This happens in 7-8 births per 100,000 and is characterized by the aorta brancing out of the right ventricle. It causes deoxygenated blood to bypass the lungs and enter the circulatory system. Fixing it can by done by a team of cardiologists and nurses by redirecting the aorta and fixing the right ventricle-pulmonary artery connection in surgeries.
Double outlet right ventricle is when both great arteries, the pulmonary artery and the aorta, are connected to the right ventricle. There is usually a ventricle in different particular places depending on the variations of DORV, typically 50% are subaortic. A VSD closure is the most common form of treatment for this condition.
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![Geriatrics is the specialty of care of the elderly. The main goal is to assist aging patients to improve their health by preventing or treating illnesses or disabilities.
Currently the mean age of the global populace is increasing[1]. Demand for geriatric care has rapidly risen within the past 10, 20 years. This trend is also seen in Malaysia. Unfortunately, it is a profession that not many young nurses or doctors would want to pursue[2].
Definition:
The word geriatrics is derived from Greek. “Geron” means “old man.” “Iatros” is defined as “healer.”
Gerontology, a word commonly used together with geriatrics, is the study of the aging process itself.
Duties:
Geriatric nurses assist their patients in their daily life. They help them to live healthily, and improve their independence by treating or staving off disabilities that cause dependency of care.
It is not uncommon for geriatric nurses to ensure the comfort of their patients is taken care of as well. They also assist in recognizing and managing syndromes that are common to older adults.
Educating the family members of the elderly patient is also a key responsibility in the geriatric nurse. The nurses have to ensure the care provided by the family are only good practices.
Ultimately their job scope depends on the institution they work in.
Education:
The study of geriatrics and gerontology itself is a relatively new branch of medicine. Medical capabilities have progressed to the point where people are now living longer than ever before.
The global average life expectancy was at 45[3] years old in 1950-55, and it has now jumped to 76. Recently, the Baby Boomer generation has started to encroach the age of 60-70. As a result there are only a few established centers of learning for the advancement of this field of medicine.
Post-basic or advanced diploma courses in geriatrics can also be listed under the name of elderly care[4]. Unfortunately, not many learning institutions or hospitals offer this in Malaysia, as of time of writing.
Workload and Working Conditions:
It depends on the institution they work in. Geriatric nurses can work in mental health facilities, hospitals, private hospitals, private practices, clinics, and also nursing homes.
Some wards may employ geriatric nurses to assist in treatment and recovery of their older patients. For example, renal, cardiology, and neurology all often do this in larger hospitals.
Opportunities in Geriatric Nursing
As it is a rapidly growing field of high importance, the opportunities for academic study and research are very high. There is a big need for healthcare workers to be trained in the field of gerontology, so local healthcare can keep up with global standards.
Some geriatric nurses even can opt to open up their own practices as well.
Read more on advancing your nursing career into nursing education HERE .
Salary and income
The median salary of geriatric nurses is higher than that of a registered nurse[5]. However this depends on many factors, such as duties/responsibilities, experience, and work location.
This is expected to increase as demand for geriatric nurses continues to grow ever-rapidly.
Read more on how nurses can increase their income HERE.
Source:
1. http://today.mims.com/topic/what-are-the-options-for-aged-care-in-singapore-?country=Malaysia&channel=GN-Health-Wellness
2. http://today.mims.com/topic/specialist-spotlight–geriatricians
3. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Life_Expectancy_at_Birth_by_Region_1950-2050.png
4. http://www.imc.edu.my/elderly-care-setting-standards-elderly-care/
5. http://www1.salary.com/Staff-Nurse-RN-Geriatric-Salary.html
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