Announcing Our Heart Month Contest Winner

Remember Why You Love Being an EP, Cath Lab or Imaging Nurse or Tech?

As we wrap up our Heart Month celebration, we want to once again say “thanks” to all the EP, Cath and Imaging professionals who take such great care of patients.  We also want to thank those who participated in our Heart Month contest for a $100 Visa gift card and shared your stories about why you love working in EP, Cath lab or imaging.

 You offered so many great stories “with heart” that it made it hard to choosea winner to feature in this blog. So we’re going to share the winning entry and a few other favorites with you. If after reading this, you’re inspired to tell your story, please feel free to share it in the comments field at the end of this blog. We would love to hear from you. Here’s the blog.

It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day tasks as you juggle multiple cases in a busy EP, Cath or imaging lab and forget why you started working in the field in the first place. For heart month, we thought it was the perfect time to spur those memories and reinvigorate cardiovascular professionals across the nation. We asked a simple question: “Why do you love being an EP, Cath lab or Imaging nurse or tech?” The responses were varied but each were very personal and heartfelt. There’s no doubt that as each person recounted their story that they felt renewed and more motivated.  Remembering something special has a way of doing that in our lives.   

To help you remember why you love what you do, here is our winning entry along with a few favorites, courtesy of your fellow professionals. 

Our Heart Month Contest Winning Entry

“The day I discovered the Cath Lab is a day I’ll remember for the rest of my life. I was a student nurse in search of a specialty to call home. I always thought of myself as an ER or OR nurse. During my Christmas break in my junior year of my BSN program, I did a 2-day job shadow in my local Cath Lab. Through a series of events, I realized the impact these team members have on their patients’ lives every single day. I knew I had to be part of this!!! I reached out to the manager to thank her for the experience. Right away she asked if she could contact me. She asked if I would consider coming to work for the Cath Lab while finishing school. Upon graduation, I’d step into a nursing role. I ecstatically accepted!  Working in the Cath Lab, growing my nursing skills in such a meaningful and rapidly growing specialty has been the best decision I’ve made. Being a Cath Lab RN has allowed me to connect with my patients and their families at some of the most vulnerable moments in their lives. I have stood at the bedside and held the hand of a man, cried, prayed as he took his last breath. I have sat and cried with families who just lost a love one or even rejoiced and praised the success of procedures that were the last hope at survival.  I have such a passion for my patient population, their families, then physicians and my colleagues. I can’t imagine doing anything else with my career. The day one is faced with taking care of a good friend and balancing emotion with skills and knowledge in an effort to save her life, the realization that I have found a specialty to call home is ever more apparent. My family has made great sacrifices to support me on my journey into Cath Lab. It is truly engrained in the fabric of who I am.”

Becci H., Cath Lab RN

A Few of Our Favorite Entries

“Cardiology is my passion. My team saved my dad’s life…I love my job because I know that it could very easily be my family laying on that table scared of dying. It means so much to a patient to feel the touch of a hand or a voice telling them you are here as the procedure is being done. I am a patient advocate for all patients. I always think, it could be my dad.”

Debbie L., Cath Lab RN

“I love my job as a Cath Lab tech because I can help patients immediately. They are either actively having a heart attack or close to it…To see a patient close to death and then see them leaving the hospital happy and healing does wonders for my heart!”

Saundra P., Cath Lab Tech