Cardiac Nurse Job Description, Key Duties and Responsibilities

This post provides detailed information on the job description of a cardiac nurse, to help you learn the work they do.

It highlights the key duties, tasks, and responsibilities that typically make up the cardiac nurse work description.

Please, read on:

What Does a Cardiac Nurse Do?

A cardiac nurse is a specialist in treating and caring for patients suffering from heart diseases.

The cardiac nurse job description entails assessing a patient’s heart performance using an electrocardiogram, observing abnormal heart rhythms and supporting cardiologists in treating ailing patients.

Their role may also include helping in diagnosing health maladies, performing health screening and counseling of patients.

These nurses are not restricted to caring for elderly patients. They also care for teenagers as well as new born babies.

They help to monitor their patient’s vital signs and assist in diagnosis, advice patients on healthy lifestyle improvements especially on dietary, physical activity and medical changes.

They also assist in dispensing medications to their patients.

A cardiac nurse, just like other nurses must have a natural willingness to help other people. He/ She must understand patients and feelings.

Cardiac nurse specialists must also know, understand and comply with all the professional ethics guiding the profession and be of good conduct at all times.

They assist patients before and after surgery and may work in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, cardio centers as well as community hospitals.

Cardiac Nurse Job Description Example/Sample/Template

The job description example given below for the position of cardiac nurse shows key duties, tasks, and responsibilities, which the nurses are usually expected to carry out on the job.

• Assist doctors in performing physical tests and prescribed tests so as to diagnose cardiac diseases
• Help to conduct and interpret laboratory test results, and also help to interpret results of cardiac tests like exercise stress tests, stress echocardiograms, and CT Coronary cardiograms, amongst others
• Educate and inform patients of the best disease prevention and control methods
• Help to manage chronic heart diseases
• Help to treat and manage patients in emergency rooms or intensive care units
• Work with doctors whenever a patient is undergoing surgery
• Advice and give professional and moral support to patients suffering from heart conditions, who may not understand the steps to take to manage their conditions
• Monitor heart devices like defibrillators and pacemakers.

Cardiac Nurse Job Description for Resume

The activities in the above sample job description can equally be employed in writing a good resume for applying to a vacant cardiac nurse post.

Cardiac Nurse Requirements: Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities for Career Success

The skills, knowledge, and other attributes the cardiac nurse needs to be effective on the job include the following:

• Solid understanding of the nursing career
• Solid knowledge of the physiology and anatomy of the heart – they must understand the way the heart and lungs work to supply blood and oxygen to the body
• Being able to operate medical equipment used to test and manage patient’s health
• They must also be able to recognize and interpret Arrhythmias
• Effective communication skills are also very important for cardiac nurses because of the amount of interaction they have with their patients. This would help to avoid disastrous consequences of miscommunications
• Ability to respond to and cope with emergency situations professionally and calmly
• Cardiac nursing is a really dynamic profession with research, new discoveries and curative methods coming up regularly. Therefore, the nurse must be committed to development and willing to learn
• It is also important for him/her to be flexible and able to adapt to new conditions and environment
• They should also possess ability to pay attention to details and be empathetic towards their patient’s plight
• Possess ability to work in a team.