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Amyria Neal
Career Journal
Pd. 5
4/8/14

Amyria Neal
Pd. 5
4/8/2014

CARDIOVASCULAR NURSE

Education and Training/ Certification
According to All Nursing Schools, a nurse-practitioner must complete a registered nursing program followed by at least 2 more years of schooling to get a master's degree. Once you have your Master of Science in Nursing, or MSN, you can participate in a post-master's certificate program that focuses on the cardiovascular specialty. Some cardiovascular Advanced Registered Nurse-Practitioners participate in a fellowship program, such as the Cardiology Nurse Practitioner Fellowship program offered by the Mayo School of Health Sciences; however, this isn't a requirement.
According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, licensure for Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP), including cardiovascular ARNP, varies from state to state. However, most states require that these specialty nurse-practitioners have a master's degree and become certified by a national certification board. Certification boards include the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) and the American Nurses Credentialing Center
(ANCC).
In an effort to ensure advanced registered nurse-practitioners stay up-to-date on medical advances, certifications have expiration dates. To renew a certification, the nurse must complete continuing education requirements, which vary according to certification board and specialty. Some continuing education requirements can be completed on the job.

Responsibility and Daily Activities
The job duties of a cardiovascular nurse-practitioner vary slightly depending on the location of practice; however, taking a patient's vital signs, documenting care in a medical record, aiding in diagnosing conditions and diseases, offering lifestyle, medical and dietary suggestions and developing and adhering to a treatment plan, including writing prescriptions and dispensing medications, are duties universal to all practice locations. In a hospital or surgical care center, the nurse is also responsible for providing pre- and post-operative care, including teaching the patient self-care techniques.

Salary-Range

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) doesn't maintain data specifically for cardiology nurses. However, it reported that, as of May 2012, the median annual wage of registered nurses in general was $65,470 (www.bls.gov). The lowest-paid 10% earned around $45,000 or less per year, while the highest-paid 10% earned over $94,000 annually at that time. Wages vary with level of education and experience.
Nurses in employment services and surgical hospitals tended to make more on average than nurses in private practice or in-home services in 2012, according to the BLS. The BLS reported that job opportunities all across the nursing field were expected to be excellent from 2010-2020, increasing by 26% over the decade.

Document of Sources
Diploma guide. N.d. Cardiovascular Nurse. Careers: Job Description & Salary Information. Retrieved from http://education-portal.com/articles/Carediovaslcular Nurse_Job_Description_Duties_and_Requirements.html eHow Contributor. N.d Information on Cardiovascular Nurse. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/about_6460321_information-Cardiovaslcular_Nurse.html

Reflection
As I researched the career path of being a Cardiovascular Nurse, I found a lot of interesting things that I would be working with people training. On scale from 1-10 I would rate this career field a 9. I was really interested in the different things in how they do their work. I am also interested in how much they get paid. I would be interested in becoming a Cardiovascular Nurse as a career choice.

MICROBIOLOGIST

Education and Training/Certification
Applicants submit high school transcripts or their equivalent. Standardized test scores are rarely required, although some programs do feature math and English placement tests. Other common requirements include a criminal background check, current immunization records and proof of personal medical insurance.
In addition to the core medical lab technician coursework, degree candidates also enroll in electives such as public speaking, English composition and technical writing. The required internship usually lasts one semester. These are some common course topics.
Phlebotomy procedures
Clinical microbiology
Body fluid analysis
Immunology
Coagulation
Blood bank theory and practice
Technicians who want to enhance their focus on microbiology might consider pursuing a Bachelor of Science in either microbiology or a related subject, such as cellular and molecular biology. These 4-year programs cover topics such as the identification, growth, structure and behavior of microorganisms like bacteria and viruses; bachelor's-level students learn to apply this knowledge to medical and clinical research. Earning a bachelor's degree can lead to opportunities as a microbiology technologist, which is a higher-level position than technician.

Responsibilities and Daily Activities The work of a microbiologist helps to prevent, diagnose and control infections as they identify and characterize organisms. They are able to comment on effective treatment and can help to develop tests to diagnose infectious diseases.
Microbiologists also look at how microorganisms affect us and how we can exploit them. Their work can be relevant in a wide variety of settings including agriculture, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and the environment, although the majority of the work is carried out in hospitals. observing, monitoring and identifying microorganisms tracking of microorganisms in a range of environments monitoring and assessing samples from a range of sources using a variety of identification methods, including molecular techniques, to test samples developing new techniques, products and processes developing and planning methods to prevent the spread of disease developing and registering new medicines, vaccines, diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical products planning, implementing and evaluating new products in clinical trials developing products, such as enzymes, vitamins, hormones, and antimicrobials
Growing microbial cultures, e.g. for use in the food and beverage industry or in agriculture working with specialist computer software to undertake studies and research
Managing and overseeing laboratory work. Keeping up with new research and attending national and international conferences and other events; liaising with colleagues from non-scientific departments
Providing information and advice to colleagues and external bodies.

Salary-Range
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), jobs for medical and clinical lab technicians were expected to increase by 15%, about as fast as the average for all occupations, from 2010-2020 (www.bls.gov). The BLS also reported that the median salary for medical lab technicians was $37,240 as of May 2012. Georgia and Tennessee were the two states with the greatest concentration of medical lab technicians employed in that same year.

Document of Source Degree Directory. N.d. Microbiologist. Retrieved from http://careers.stateuniversity.com/pages/7828/Microbiologist.html eHow. N.d. Education required to become a Microbiologist. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/way_5646629_education-required-become-Microbiologist.html

Self-Reflection
As I was researching on a Microbiologist I found a couple of interesting things that can apply to my life in my career. This would be my second career choice that I would like. The pay as a Microbiologist is a really good amount to be paid when you’re staring off with your career. If I had to rate this job on a scale from 1-10, I would rate this career at a 7. This job field interests me but I had my eye on another field.

NUCLEAR MEDICINE TECHNOLOGIST

Education and Training/ Certifications
Nuclear medicine technologists typically need an associate’s degree in nuclear medicine technology. Bachelor’s degrees are also common.
Some technologists become qualified by completing an associate’s or a bachelor's degree program in a related health field, such as radiologic technology or nursing, and then completing a 12-month certificate program in nuclear medicine technology.
Generally, certificate programs are offered in hospitals, associate's degree programs are in community colleges, and bachelor's degrees are granted by colleges and universities.
Some nuclear medicine technologists become certified. Although certification is not required for a license, it fulfills most of the requirements for state licensure on its own.
Some employers require certification, regardless of state regulations. Certification usually involves completing required coursework and having the necessary hours of clinical experience, as well as graduating from an accredited nuclear medicine technology program.
In addition to receiving general certification, technologists can earn specialty certifications that show their proficiency in specific procedures or on certain equipment. A technologist can earn certification in positron emission tomography (PET) or nuclear cardiology (NCT).

Responsibilities and Daily Activities
Nuclear medicine technologists typically:
Explain imaging procedures to the patient and answer questions
Follow safety procedures to protect themselves and the patient from unnecessary radiation exposure
Examine machines to ensure that they are working properly
Prepare radioactive drugs and administer them to the patient
Monitor the patient to check for unusual reactions to the drugs
Operate equipment that creates images of areas in the body, such as images of organs
Keep detailed records of procedures
Radioactive drugs, known as radiopharmaceuticals, give off radiation, allowing special scanners to monitor tissue and organ functions. Abnormal areas show higher-than-expected or lower-than-expected concentrations of radioactivity. Physicians and surgeons then interpret the images to help diagnose the patient’s condition.
After additional experience or training, a technologist can choose to specialize in positron emission tomography (PET) or nuclear cardiology (NCT). PET uses a machine that creates a three-dimensional image of a part of the body, such as the brain. NCT uses radioactive drugs to obtain images of the heart. Patients exercise during the imaging process while the technologist creates images of the heart and blood flow.

Salary-Range
The median annual wage for nuclear medicine technologists was $70,180 in May 2012. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $50,560, and the top 10 percent earned more than $93,320.

Documentation of Sources
Education portal. N.d. Nuclear Medicine Technologist. Retrieved from http://education-portal.com/NMT_education.html
Bls. N.d. Phlebotomy. Nuclear Medicine Technologist. Requirements. Retrieved from http://phlebotomyeducationhub.com/NMT-training-overview/

Self- Reflection
As I was researching the responsibilities and daily activated of being a Nuclear Medicine Technologist I found them very interesting. I would like to become a Nuclear Medicine Technologist. Being a Nuclear Medicine Technologist requires you to look at a patient’s body on a computer which is very interesting to me. The job seems very hard but in reality it is very easy, all day just looking at someone inside son a computer. This job seems pretty cool to me. On a scale from 1-10 I would rate this career choice a 10! A Nuclear Medicine Technologist is the best career choice I’ve researched all year.