Cardiac Rehab Specialist Jobs

About The Position

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field, such as Exercise Physiology, Exercise Science, or Kinesiology.
• Current Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers (BLS-HCP).
• Current Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification, or PALS certification for pediatrics, as required by the facility.
• Successfully complete a formal ECG interpretation and arrhythmia-detection course within six months of hire.
• Clinical assessment and monitoring skills.
• EKG interpretation and symptom-recognition skills.
• Functional-capacity testing and exercise-programming skills.
• Patient education, coaching, communication, and patient-care skills.
• Documentation and care-coordination skills.
• Technical proficiency with rehabilitation equipment, telemetry systems, and clinical tools.

Nice To Haves

• One year of cardiac and/or pulmonary rehabilitation experience.

Responsibilities

• Apply foundational knowledge of exercise-program design, evaluation, and standards for cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation patients, and develop an understanding of departmental policies, protocols, and procedures.
• Obtain medical histories through patient interviews and medical-record review; review medications; assess symptoms and vital signs; measure heart rate, blood pressure, and blood glucose; and interpret ECGs at rest and during exercise.
• Assign and instruct appropriate exercise levels and modalities according to patients’ age, health status, limitations, capacity, and physician-prescribed exercise plans.
• Perform functional-capacity testing using appropriate procedures and materials, such as six-minute walk tests, bike tests, and arm ergometer tests.
• Coordinate and deliver disease-specific exercise, education, and lifestyle-management interventions with staff, patients, and families, including education on nutrition, blood pressure management, medication compliance, stress management, symptom recognition, smoking cessation, lipid management, risk-factor modification, and independent exercise.
• Educate patients on vital-sign monitoring at home and in class, prescription and over-the-counter medications, coronary artery disease risk factors, exercise adjustments during temperature extremes, stress reduction, angina and heart-attack symptoms, and appropriate workload increases or changes.
• Provide inpatient mobility, activities of daily living, and education according to a plan of care delegated by therapists or floor RNs; monitor vital signs and physiological responses to activity.
• Obtain and record assigned vital signs, including blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen saturation; recognize changes in patients’ physical, mental, or emotional status; respond to immediate needs; involve other staff as appropriate; and follow up with physicians by telephone or symptom report.
• Complete individualized cardiac and/or pulmonary rehabilitation treatment plans, daily and progress notes, and discharge documentation according to departmental standards.
• Accurately document productivity information and apply working knowledge of insurance requirements.
• Participate in quality and patient-safety initiatives; identify opportunities to improve processes and patient satisfaction; and identify and address potential safety hazards.
• Assist in training new caregivers and students and perform other assigned duties.