(Editor’s note: The Regional Center for Health Professions facility in Kingsport is NOT open to the general public.)
Cardiovascular health and treatment rank among the most critical services provided in health care.
Students enrolled in the Cardiovascular Technology (CVT) program at Northeast State will step onto the front lines of critical care when they graduate. After putting labs and clinical on hold for weeks, CVT students returned to the Regional Center for Health Professions facility in late last month to recover lab time lost.
“They have been very encouraging and very optimistic through all the curveballs thrown to them during the pandemic,” said Angie Slone, program director and Assistant Professor of the Invasive section of the CVT program.
Non-invasive CVT lab work goes forward with masks and shields.
As the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe, Northeast State moved spring classes online in mid-March. As for all students, CVT class lectures moved to Zoom while laboratories were suspended and quickly transitioned to virtual simulations. Clinical rotations for all health professions students were also suspended by health care organizations.
“We are doing virtual simulations and some in-person hands-on lab as well,” said Slone. “No more than 10 people including the instructors go in a lab at one time.”
Before students returned, clear sneeze shields were installed in the non-invasive lab at each scan station to protect students. All the lab equipment gets wiped down and cleaned after every student switches out. CVT faculty mailed all the students reusable cloth masks available when they returned to campus.
Northeast State’s Cardiovascular Technology program features two options: invasive and non-invasive practice. The invasive section trains students with an emphasis for work in heart catheterization labs and echocardiography labs. On the non-invasive side, students use ultrasound technology of the sonogram to view the heart and cardiovascular system. The program awards the associate of applied science degree.
The Cardiovascular Technology program prepares students for a career in the healthcare field with special emphasis for work in catheterization labs, echocardiography labs, or echocardiography departments. As a health professions program, Cardiovascular Technology focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of patients with cardiac and peripheral vascular disease. The College’s CVT department is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs and the Joint Review Committee on Education in Cardiovascular Technology.
Students complete the core course requirements and apply for admittance to the CVT program. Students choose the invasive or non-invasive option at the end of the first semester.
These 18 students completing their spring semester laboratory work were slated to graduate this spring. The students expect to graduate with all necessary credit and lab contacts in August.
Slone said multiple clinical affiliates donated supplies to the program during the Coronavirus pandemic. This enabled faculty to send donated supplies and interventional kits home with students for study and practice. Slone said the department should know by early June whether on-site clinical rotations would resume.
“This is helping them graduate on time and not have to take an incomplete,” said Slone. “We are ready to transition to clinical sites if we are given the green light to go.”
The Cardiovascular Credentialing International organization administers the national exams for CVT graduates in July. Students can sit for the exam upon meeting all the eligibility requirements.
Students returned to cardiac cath labs in limited numbers in May.
The CVT program is accredited through the Commission on Accreditation for Allied Health Education Programs. That accrediting body responded to COVID-19 crises with help for programs seeking to keep students on track. Slone said once the department submitted their plans to respond to COVID-19, the JRC-CVT were very willing to work with them.
Non-invasive majors take the Registered Cardiac Sonographer exam while invasive majors sit for the Registered Cardiovascular Invasive Specialist exam. Both exams were deemed as essential service tests for health care workers.
“The CVT students are very passionate about this career choice,” said Slone. “They are not intimidated about going back for the most part.”
CVT students and instructors are ready to fight for patients in health care.
(Editor’s note: The Regional Center for Health Professions facility in Kingsport is NOT open to the general public.)
Cardiovascular health and treatment rank among the most critical services provided in health care.
Students enrolled in the Cardiovascular Technology (CVT) program at Northeast State will step onto the front lines of critical care when they graduate. After putting labs and clinical on hold for weeks, CVT students returned to the Regional Center for Health Professions facility in late last month to recover lab time lost.
“They have been very encouraging and very optimistic through all the curveballs thrown to them during the pandemic,” said Angie Slone, program director and Assistant Professor of the Invasive section of the CVT program.
As the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe, Northeast State moved spring classes online in mid-March. As for all students, CVT class lectures moved to Zoom while laboratories were suspended and quickly transitioned to virtual simulations. Clinical rotations for all health professions students were also suspended by health care organizations.
“We are doing virtual simulations and some in-person hands-on lab as well,” said Slone. “No more than 10 people including the instructors go in a lab at one time.”
Before students returned, clear sneeze shields were installed in the non-invasive lab at each scan station to protect students. All the lab equipment gets wiped down and cleaned after every student switches out. CVT faculty mailed all the students reusable cloth masks available when they returned to campus.
The Cardiovascular Technology program prepares students for a career in the healthcare field with special emphasis for work in catheterization labs, echocardiography labs, or echocardiography departments. As a health professions program, Cardiovascular Technology focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of patients with cardiac and peripheral vascular disease. The College’s CVT department is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs and the Joint Review Committee on Education in Cardiovascular Technology.
Students complete the core course requirements and apply for admittance to the CVT program. Students choose the invasive or non-invasive option at the end of the first semester.
These 18 students completing their spring semester laboratory work were slated to graduate this spring. The students expect to graduate with all necessary credit and lab contacts in August.
Slone said multiple clinical affiliates donated supplies to the program during the Coronavirus pandemic. This enabled faculty to send donated supplies and interventional kits home with students for study and practice. Slone said the department should know by early June whether on-site clinical rotations would resume.
“This is helping them graduate on time and not have to take an incomplete,” said Slone. “We are ready to transition to clinical sites if we are given the green light to go.”
The Cardiovascular Credentialing International organization administers the national exams for CVT graduates in July. Students can sit for the exam upon meeting all the eligibility requirements.
The CVT program is accredited through the Commission on Accreditation for Allied Health Education Programs. That accrediting body responded to COVID-19 crises with help for programs seeking to keep students on track. Slone said once the department submitted their plans to respond to COVID-19, the JRC-CVT were very willing to work with them.
Non-invasive majors take the Registered Cardiac Sonographer exam while invasive majors sit for the Registered Cardiovascular Invasive Specialist exam. Both exams were deemed as essential service tests for health care workers.
“The CVT students are very passionate about this career choice,” said Slone. “They are not intimidated about going back for the most part.”
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