It is the responsibility of the cardiac rehabilitation nurse to care for patients recuperating from their cardiac diseases. Working together with a nurse supervisor, a cardiac rehab nurse specifically carries out a care plan for the patients, counsels about rehab strategies, evaluates the progress of the patients, and educates them and their loved ones about the treatment and rehab strategies to be continued at home, including a diet and exercise regimen.
Because more and more people are developing cardiac diseases, cardiac rehabilitation nurses are experiencing plenty of job opportunities. If a career in cardiac nursing is a path you would like to take, here are some tips about nurse training programs, degrees and job experience you’ll need.
First, you may want to consider enrolling in an accredited online nursing school; you'll find that online learning options are convenient and affordable - and they offer lots of hands-on experience, so you'll definitely get all of the clinical training you'll need to success as a cardiac rehab nurse!
- Complete a nursing educational program. An Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) or Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) is necessary to be a cardiac rehab nurse. Such degree programs are offered in many accredited nursing schools and are completed within two and four years, respectively. ADN and BSN will both expose you to clinical training, although BSN is more thorough in nature.
- Be a registered nurse. After the completion of a nursing degree program, getting registered should be your next priority. You should take the NCLEX-RN (National Council Licensure Examination-Registered Nurse) examination, which is administered by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. When you pass the exam, you will become a Registered Nurse and will be entitled to add “RN” after your name. You’ll have to do this before you can be a cardiac rehab nurse.
- Earn at least two years of experience in general nursing care. Before you become a cardiac rehab nurse, you must first gather at least two years of experience in the field of general nursing. You can be assigned to a critical care unit, intensive care unit, or in some other settings where you can be rigorously trained for cardiac rehabilitation nursing.
- Transition into being a cardiac rehab nurse. Cardiac rehab nursing is a specialization, so you need to complete a training program for this. Many different agencies, organizations and universities offer a cardiac nursing training program. You can research them and find the training program that fits you.
- Earn a certification. You can apply for a certification after completing a training program. Certifications for cardiac rehab nurses are facilitated by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation and the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Obtaining certification is optional, but it will most certainly improve your credentials and help you land a good job. This is because certification implies your competency and the additional training you went through.
- Update your knowledge and skills. To be a relevant and effective cardiac rehab nurse, you need to continuously update your knowledge and skills, especially because new nursing methodologies and technologies are introduced on a regular basis. You can attend workshops, trainings and conferences. Similarly, you can read literature, which can now be accessed through the Internet. Continuing education is also required to remain certified and licensed.
As a cardiac rehab nurse, you can find work in hospitals, clinics, cardiac rehab centers, therapy clinics and similar facilities, although employment opportunities are also available in fitness centers. Like most nursing jobs, there are a lot of options for your work environment. After you’ve met the requirements to work as a nurse, on average you can earn around $62,000 to $88,000 annually. Salary rates depend on a lot of things like educational level, scope of work and employer.