Reader Comments: Reflections on Cardiovascular Professionals Week and Cath Lab Morale

How about celebrating Cardiovascular Professional’s week without FOOD! The holiday season is winding down and I’m up 10 pounds! Don’t the reps and MDs know what their good intent does to our waistline? Seriously though, how about a campaign of Have you hugged your CVT lately? It’s non-caloric, free, and it feels soooo good. Perhaps we’re the few, but we sure are the proud! How many of us suffer from radiation and lead poisoning and keep plugging along? No whining, we just do the job and do it well. A hug would sure be nice after one of those full metal jacket cases on an RCA. As far as morale goes, ours is up. We were short-staffed over the holidays, and we just plugged along. It seemed as if it got busier each day as we got closer to the holidays! Although it’s typical for this time of year. I don’t know what the secret is; perhaps it’s because each staff member seems to respect one another’s expertise and know-how. That makes for a lot of ˜Atta boys.’ It’s all good. We call it the ˜Happiest Place On Earth.’ It is, most of the time. Did I mention we’re hiring RNs and CVTs? Apply now! Susan Sions, RCIS, Torrance Memorial Hospital, Torrance, California Email: SLSIONS@aol.com Our cath lab is going through a lot of renovations and changes right now. We are adding a new lab, plus increasing the size of our overall department. Our prep/holding area is increasing from 4 beds to 16 in order to meet our increasing demands. Unfortunately, the staffing is not increasing; in fact, we have had several staff quit due to unsolved issues. Our call time is very demanding. We work 10-hour shifts and if you are on call, you end up working 14-16 hours. Weekends are just as bad. We frequently put in 8-10 hours/day on weekends. We have no policy for a limit on hours worked in one day, which means if you are working until 12 or 1am, and you are scheduled to be back to work at 6am, you are expected to be there. Another issue is our availability pay. Our surgery department gets $5/hour for availability call, and we receive $2/hour. This has caused a lot of bad feelings within the cath lab, and is another reason why staff are looking elsewhere. I would be interested in knowing what other labs are doing as far as availability pay and call schedules, etc. Thank you. Email: CathLabDigest@aol.com

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