Cardiac Catheterization Lab Nurse

Who these nurses care for

Patients undergoing diagnostic and interventional cardiac procedures, including STEMI activation.

What the shift actually looks like

Scheduled diagnostic cases interrupted by STEMI activations that override everything. Radiation exposure, lead aprons and long standing periods are part of the job. Call is the defining feature.

Credentials and certifications

Typically required

BLS, ACLS; RCIS valued

Typical ratio

Case-based

What to specify when you send the req

Whether the lab does structural heart or EP, call rotation, and sheath management expectations.

Why this role is hard to fill

Call is the deciding factor for most cath lab candidates. State the rotation up front or expect declines late in the process.

What candidates ask before accepting

Answering these in the req itself shortens the process considerably, because they are the questions that otherwise surface at offer stage and cause declines: Call rotation and response time, structural heart or EP programs, and sheath management expectations.

Contract or permanent?

Contract for census swings, leave coverage and seasonal surge. Per diem to protect ratios without expanding core FTE. Permanent when the seat is structural. The expensive mistake is running contract labour for eighteen months on a role that was always permanent.

Licensure

Registered nursing is covered by the Nurse Licensure Compact in most of the country, so a multistate license lets a nurse work across member states without a new application. Thirteen jurisdictions sit outside it — Alaska, California, DC, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands — and in those markets every out-of-state nurse needs a single-state license first. Those are the markets where reqs stay open longest.

How we work this req

Every candidate is spoken to before you see them, with licensure for your state, certifications and unit-specific competency confirmed before submittal. We screen to the credential the unit actually needs rather than the title on the posting. Rates sit inside the ranges on our published cost breakdown.