SICP: CVT School Spotlight Valencia Community College: A New CVT Program to Meet High Demand

Why and how did you become an educator? In 1986, I began work as a respiratory therapist. I became an educator in 1989 when I was offered an adjunct teaching position from my alma mater, Youngstown State University (Ohio). I worked with the students at the same hospital where I was employed as an operational supervisor in the cardiopulmonary department, a set up that benefited everyone. I was able to match students with interesting patient assignments because I was familiar with the hospital staff and patient caseload. I was also able to begin training the students as potential new hires. It was a sweet deal for all, and one we are attempting to replicate here in the Orlando cardiology community. I became a full-time educator in 1995 when I moved to Orlando, Florida, and accepted the position as Clinical Coordinator of Valencia’s Respiratory Care Program. It was at Valencia Community College (VCC) that I was given the flexibility and support to expand my horizons. In 2000, I earned my MBA from Rollins College and Valencia offered me the opportunity to work with Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC) and Florida Hospital to develop the cardiovascular technology program. Similar to the majority of people who now work in the cath lab, I had a chance to cross-train. Thus, during the past three years I have been cross-training into CVT. In January 2002, I officially took over as full-time program director, began working with the first class of students in August, and passed the RCIS exam in September 2002. I credit my ongoing education to some very special people. First and foremost, I have to thank Jeff Davis, CVT Program Director for Edison Community College (Ft. Myers, Fl). Jeff is my mentor and continues to guide me. Wes Todd (Director Cardiac Self Assessment, Spokane, Washington) is ever-supportive via on-line course instruction and email communications. I’d also like to thank: Tim Cross (Cardiology Educator, Florida Hospital) Marsha Bryant (Camtronics, formerly the Cath Lab Educator for ORMC) David Houvener (Camtronics, formerly the ORMC Sandlake Cath Lab Director) Dr. Gene Gross All the cath lab techs at Florida Hospital, Sandlake Hospital, and ORMC who opened their lab doors and allowed me to be part of their team. It is my belief that being an ongoing student of cardiology gives me a unique, open-minded perspective, one which I hope will inspire my students to see their own capabilities for professional development. How long has your program been in operation? Valencia’s cardio program is brand new. We accepted our first student class last year, in the fall of 2002. Development of the program took three years of planning, educating, funding, and procurement of assets. Describe your program syllabus, both clinical and classroom. We have a two-year associate degree program, modeled on Jeff Davis’ program at Edison Community College in Ft Myers, Florida. Our curriculum follows the recommended essentials and guidelines for an accredited education program set forth by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Cardiovascular Technology (JRC-CVT). We built an on-campus mock cath lab with the help of two grants and Dan Wheeler of Transtate Equipment (Raleigh, NC). Clinical training takes place in our affiliated hospitals. Our two primary affiliates are Orlando Regional Healthcare Systems and Florida Hospital. Our students also rotate with our Medical Directors, Dr. Arnold Einhorn, Dr. Pradip Jamnadas, and Dr. Gene Gross. Dr. Einhorn, Chief of Cardiology at Orlando Regional Medical Center, works with the students in his office practice, Mid Florida Cardiology, as well as at ORMC. Similarly, Dr. Jamnadas rotates the students through his practice, (Cardiovascular Interventions), works with the students at Florida Hospital, and also conducts didactic lectures. In addition, Dr. Gene Gross, retired Chief of Cardiology at Orlando Regional Medical Center, is very active with our program. He donates his time and expertise to our classroom lectures and lab activities. We are attempting to work out the contractual details for three additional hospitals to become affiliated with our program: Health Central of Ocoee, FL; Osceola Regional Medical Center of Kissimmee, FL; Holmes Regional Medical Center of Melbourne, FL. For more detailed information, please feel free to contact our Academic Advisor, Helen Sambuca at hsambuca@valenciacc.edu or myself at pkeller@valenciacc.edu. How many students do you accept each year? Have you seen an increase in applicants over the years? Due to limited clinical space, we are designed to have a maximum of 10 students per year. On the request from our advisory board to help meet local employment demands, we increased the number of students accepted by 50% for our second class. What backgrounds do students generally have? The majority of the first class had no prior hospital or clinical experience prior to this program. Our second class is a mixture, with some currently employed in hospitals and waiting to transfer into the cath lab upon successful completion of this program. What is your program’s annual tuition? Currently VCC’s tuition is $57.62 per credit hour for Florida residents. The program is 77 total credits, yielding a total of $3,320.06. Out-of-state fees are $216.46 per credit hour, yielding a total of $16,667.42 for the program. What textbooks, CDs, and websites are used in your classes? Respiratory Care Anatomy and Physiology, Foundations for Clinical Practice by Will Beachey for cardiopulmonary physiology; The Cardiac Catheterization Handbook by Morton Kern and Grossman’s Cardiac Catheterization, Angiography, and Intervention by Donald Baim & William Grossman for invasive procedures; Drugs for the Heart by Lionel Opie for cardiac pharmacology; Hemodynamic Monitoring, Invasive and Noninvasive Clinical Application by Gloria Darovic for hemodynamics; Virtual Cath Lab (Lawrence Educational Media, Gainesville, FL). We also have a computerized mannequin (Sim-Man, Laerdal Medical, www.laerdal.com) in our lab. He breaths, he talks, he has arterial pulses, and heart and lung sounds! He has ECG rhythms, and arterial pressure waves on the monitor. Sim-Man is fun and we run simulations with him. Unfortunately, we can’t advance any coronary catheters in him (we have to use models). What types of clinical experiences do you offer students? Our primary focus is on invasive cardiology. Most of our students’ time will be spent in the cath lab. Plans are to have additional brief rotations into EP, peripheral, echo, cardiac nuclear medicine, EECP, and cardiac rehab. Our goals are to have the student rotate through the entire patient experience, from cardiologist office to rehab. We also have brief rotations to key spots in the hospital, like the emergency department, coronary ICU, open heart recovery, and OR. How hands on do the students become and when do they start this exposure? All of the didactic courses have lab time in which they will use our mock cath lab and Sim-Man to practice skills. All clinical courses are mainly in the hospital setting. So "hands-on" begins in the very first core course, and the length of clinical time increases throughout the program. Are your students cross-trained? Our plans are to have some exposure to EP and peripheral, but not enough for a seamless transition by graduation. Our advisory board has suggested the implementation of advanced certificates in these key areas. We are working to implement a fast track, one-year, CVT-to-RN program. Currently VCC has a fast track RN program for LPN, paramedic, and respiratory care. Who does your classroom and clinical teaching? Primarily myself and a few other key VCC professors handle classroom instruction. For example, the director of our radiography program teaches the radiation physics section. Key hospital personnel, like Tim Cross (Cardiology Educator, Florida Hospital) and our physicians also participate in the didactic components of the program. Clinically, preceptors at the hospital affiliates handle most of the actual bedside instruction. We are currently looking to hire part-time clinical adjunct instructors to fill this gap. What is the employment outlook for your graduates? According to a survey of local employment needs and my advisory board’s opinion, employment outlook is forecasted to be 100% for successful graduates. What are typical starting salaries for graduates? Eighteen dollars per hour. Our first graduating class will be in August of 2004. Is there currently a demand for graduates of accredited CVT programs and will there be demand in the future? The hospitals in our area currently do not differentiate. However, it is my opinion that it is only a matter of time until national testing standards and licensure are the norm. It is for this reason that Valencia designed its program under the accreditation model. We will begin application for accreditation after our first class completes the entire curriculum. What advice can you give to students considering the CVT school? Research the profession beforehand to become confident that this is the career path for you. Consider the following questions: Will you like being in a concrete room with no windows? Will you like the sterile environment and all the limitations on movement? Will you enjoy working in a small work team where you get to know each other as you do family, for better or worse? Will you like that it is a procedural diagnostic/interventional job, unlike general nursing, where you are involved with the total care of the patient? Will you like the intense, stressful, adrenaline-surging environment? Will you find the constant changing of new technology exciting or frustrating? Will you find the intense curriculum of the program a mental challenge and ultimately a satisfying personal achievement? These are some practical things about the job/program that could make a person happy or miserable in their work environment. My students have also advised others to complete and pay close attention to the general sciences prior to the core CVT courses, particularly anatomy and physiology. What do you consider unique about your program? Our students’ clinical experiences will be exceptional because of our two primary affiliates, ORMC and Florida Hospital. US News and World Report ranked both as One of America’s Best hospitals for cardiology. In addition, as the largest heart program in Florida, Florida Hospital performs over 16,000 complex cardiac procedures each year. The large number and variety of procedures performed at our affiliates will provide our students with opportunities to gain valuable clinical skills. Can you share a particularly funny, bizarre or proud teaching moment? Well, we almost got kicked out of our classroom for being too noisy while reviewing for a final exam! We were having a blast reviewing hemodynamics by playing Pictionary. But it seems not everyone in the vicinity shared our enthusiasm! A question for students: Why did you choose to become a CVT? The majority of the students polled stated that they chose this profession because they wanted to help people and found the heart fascinating. Polly Keller is the program director for the Cardiovascular Technology Program at Valencia Community College in Orlando, Fl. Originally from Youngstown, OH, she is now living in Orlando, Florida, and is married to an engineer who helps fulfill her need to learn how and why things work. She can be contacted at: pkeller@valenciacc.edu.

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