Cardiovascular Technologist Jobs
The future for cardiovascular technologist jobs in the United States is quite bright. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the profession will see an above average growth rate of 24% through the year 2018.
One reason for the growth is that many members of the increasing population of aging Baby Boomers will develop cardiovascular diseases, so the need for trained CVTs will also increase. Another reason for the projected growth in demand for cardiovascular technologists, especially those in noninvasive specialties, is the development of new technologies that will eliminate the need for more expensive invasive procedures.
Who hires cardiovascular technologists?
The overwhelming majority of cardiovascular technologist jobs—almost 77%—are found in general medical or surgical hospitals. This makes sense when you stop to consider the considerable financial investment in equipment and various support personnel that is needed to set up and maintain cardiac care units. In fact, in some states, they are often only found in the largest regional hospitals.
About 15% of CVT jobs are found in doctors' offices. Groups of doctors who specialize in cardiology and related fields may open up their own private clinics and invest in equipment and personnel to be able to perform some noninvasive procedures on site. The rest of the cardiovascular tech workforce is employed in labs, ambulatory care centers or outpatient clinics.
The most in-demand cardiovascular technology jobs
CVTs that are certified in more than one specialty or trained in more than one procedure are projected to be in the most demand. Since most cardiovascular tech jobs are in hospitals, which are increasingly being owned and managed by national health care corporations, the trend toward cutting labor costs will most likely continue. Job candidates who are able to give their employers the benefits of multiple skills will have the best prospects for being hired.
Echocardiographer (cardiac sonographer) and vascular technologist (vascular sonographer) jobs, which both involve noninvasive procedures, are projected to be in more demand than cardiology jobs involving invasive procedures such as catheterization. The combination of better sonography equipment and the pressure on hospitals to keep their expenses down will result in using more noninvasive methods whenever possible.
Other factors affecting cardiovascular technology jobs
Since seniors are the largest sector of consumers for cardiac treatment, some of the job growth may depend on the prevailing political climate. Health care administrators whose facilities rely on Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement for revenue may adjust cardiac care staff levels based on cash flow from government sources. So it might be wise for job hunters to check out the balance sheets of prospective corporate hospital employers.
