Corporate sponsors included:
Boston Scientific Interventional Cardiology Division, represented by Tony Hartman, Interventional Sales Specialist (Figure 3)
GE Healthcare, represented by Dennis Carrick, Senior Imaging Sales Specialist (Figure 4)
Sanofi Aventis, represented by B.J. Lee, Sales Professional (Figure 5)
Guidant Corporation
Private sponsors were Raleigh Cardiology Associates and Wake Heart & Vascular Associates.

Door prizes were provided by both the sponsors and the Society of Cardiovascular Professionals (SICP).

The CV Orientation Program was attended by 64 RCIS board-eligible nurses, emergency medical technician-paramedics (EMT-P), radiologic technologists, and other cardiovascular technologists (Figure 6).

Invited presenters were Marsha Holton, CCRN, RCIS, FSICP (Figure 1) and Jeff Davis, RRT, RCIS, FSICP, BA (Figure 2), Director of the Cardiovascular Technology Program, Edison College, Fort Myers, Florida. The agenda for the two-day event included:
Cardiac Anatomy and Physiology
Coronary Anatomy and Angiography
Cardiovascular Hemodynamics
Cardiac Diseases, Coronary Artery Disease and Heart Failure
Hemodynamic Pathologies
Patient Assessment
Radiation Safety for the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory
Congenital Heart Disease
Calculations and Formulas
Calculations Workshop
Pharmacology Review
12-Lead EKG
Interventions Review
Catheterization Equipment

The program was approved for 16 Category A Credits by the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT) and for 9 Category A credits by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN).

If your facility wishes to sponsor a local cardiovascular review course for invasive support staff members and cardiology fellows, please contact Marsha Holton, CCRN, RCIS, FSICP, Cardiovascular Orientation Programs, 3160 Green Meadows Road, Indian Head, Maryland 20640, by phone at (301) 283-6834, or by e-mail at marshasicp@aol.com. You can also contact Wes Todd, Cardiac Self Assessment, 1605 South Clinton Road, Spokane, Washington 90216-0420, by phone at (509) 926-0344, or by e-mail at wes@westodd.com.
In addition to the intensive two-day CV Orientation Program, Marsha and Wes offer a 12-week computer-based cath lab staff training program that is used interactively with Wes Todd™s five-volume book, Todd™s Cardiovascular Review Book, A Comprehensive Review of CV Exams,1“5 which is also available on CD. The book covers cardiovascular science, patient care, anatomy, physiology, pathology, invasive diagnostic techniques, hemodynamic calculations, interventions and sample practice exams for invasive cardiovascular technology.1“5

After attending this review course for the Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI) RCIS examination, we would recommend the program for radiologic technologists who wish to sit for the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) cardiac-interventional examination, available since January 1, 2003. Also, we would encourage any registered radiographer to be certified by the ARRT and by CCI.

Nurses, radiologic technologists, cardiovascular technologists, physicians and other allied health workers certified in other recognized allied health professions who have worked in invasive and interventional cardiology settings are eligible to take the CCI RCIS examination if they meet the qualifications set forth by the testing organization.

To obtain more information, contact Cardiovascular Credentialing International, 1500 Sunday Drive, Raleigh, North Carolina 27607 in writing, by phone at (800) 326-0268, or (919) 861-4539. Information about the exam and a test application can be obtained from the website, www.cci-online.org.

If registered radiographers are interested in being certified in cardiac-interventional procedures and/or vascular-interventional procedures, they can contact the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists, 1255 Northland Drive, St. Paul, Minnesota 55120-1155 in writing, by phone at (651) 687-0048, or through the website www.arrt.org.

Finally, if any cardiac cath lab team member wants to join the Society of Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals (SICP), contact the SICP, 1550 Sunday Drive, Suite 102, Raleigh, NC 27607 by letter, by phone (919) 861-4546, or by e-mail at membership@sicp.com.