Cardiac Exercise Physiologist

Cardiac Exercise Physiologist

Join Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital's team of caregivers that remain on the leading edge of technology and education, all while consistently providing patient-centered healthcare. As part of Cleveland Clinic's Florida region, Weston Hospital is recognized as one of the top hospitals in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale and Florida regions. Here, you will receive endless support and appreciation while building a rewarding career with one of the most respected healthcare organizations in the world.

As a Cardiac Exercise Physiologist, you will conduct and evaluate exercise stress tests for outpatients and inpatients based on physician orders, clinical assessments, and established protocols. In this role, you will develop individualized exercise prescriptions and oversee exercise progression for patients with cardiovascular disease in a rehabilitative setting.

A caregiver in this role works days from 7:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. or 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

A caregiver who excels in this role will:

• Supervise all stress testing in the inpatient and outpatient setting.
• Review history and physical (H&P) for test appropriateness.
• Recognize contraindications to exercise and abnormal patient responses to exercise.
• Respond appropriately to all situations including exercise cessation and referral to medical professionals.
• Perform additional physiological assessments as required (i.e. cardiopulmonary testing, PFTs, oximetry, ammonia PET studies)
• Responsible for coding daily procedures using current Medicare CPT and ICD10 guidelines
• Provide inpatient (Phase I) and outpatient (Phase II and maintenance) cardiac rehabilitation services to a variety of cardiovascular conditions.
• May provide patient testing before and after rehabilitation including strength, body composition, flexibility, balance and endurance.
• Provide exercise prescription for patients utilizing test data, patient status and current medication regimen, update prescription according to patient response.
• Implement concepts of cardiac secondary prevention.
• May develop and will update cardiac rehab participants' Individual Treatment Plans. Competency in blood pressure, lipid, diabetes, smoking cessation, weight management and psychosocial assessment/plan development/reassessment and symptom evaluation
• Recognize contraindications to exercise and abnormal patient responses to exercise.
• Respond appropriately to all situations including exercise cessation and referral to medical professionals.
• Provide exercise, cardiovascular health promotion and behavior change strategy information for patients, peers and the community which may include public speaking and education classes.
• Arrange for initial outpatient cardiac rehab evaluation, recurring outpatient cardiac rehab sessions and discharge from the program.
• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum qualifications for the ideal future caregiver include:

• Master's degree in exercise physiology, kinesiology, nursing or a similar field
• Basic Life Support (BLS) through American Heart Association (AHA) or American Red Cross
• American College of Sports Medicine Clinical Exercise Physiologist certification within one year of hire date
• 3-6 months internship or equivalent work experience working with cardiopulmonary patients and their families
• Proficient in 12-lead EKG interpretation and cardiac arrhythmia recognition
• Knowledge of cardiology, disease processes, multi-organ disease issues, and pharmacology as it relates to exercise
• Competency in patient assessment skills such as blood pressure measurement, pulse taking, telemetry, pulse oximetry, blood glucose assessment, body composition

Preferred qualifications for the ideal future caregiver include:

• One to three years of experience
• Clinical Exercise Specialist Certification by American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
• Training in graded exercise testing, EKG analysis and interpretation, and cardiovascular exercise physiology, including cardiac rehabilitation principles

Physical Requirements:

• Essential Duties: Interacts with patients and their families, as well as professional staff.
• Develops and maintain cooperative working relationship between the department and members of the medical staff, nursing services and other ancillary department.
• Communicates with referring physician as needed regarding exercise test result and patient's clinical status.
• Good motor coordination and manual and finer dexterity, as well as excellent hand/eye coordination to operate stress-testing equipment.
• This position requires frequent walking, sitting, and standing; talking and listening when given instructions and explanations and also frequent use of the phone, fax machines and computer.
• Work is medium/frequent, lifting and carrying equipment, supplies and materials up to 50 pounds without help of mechanical devices or other personnel.
• Requires stooping, pushing and pulling when moving patient into position for treatment; also you will be reaching, handling, feeling and manipulation of equipment into position.
• Communication skills to convey instruction and information to patient and staff member.
• Visual acuity to perceive retains to treatment and follows or read instruction.
• The position spends 98% of his/her time in air-conditioned areas.
• The potential for exposure to blood and blood-borne pathogens materials is present while completing his/her duties.

Personal Protective Equipment:

• This position requires exposure to infectious wastes such as blood and body fluids in his/her clinical duties and therefore, requires the use of PPE and Universal Precautions.

The policy of Cleveland Clinic Health System and its system hospitals (Cleveland Clinic Health System) is to provide equal opportunity to all of our caregivers and applicants for employment in our drug free environment. All offers of employment are followed by testing for controlled substances.

Cleveland Clinic Health System administers an influenza prevention program. You will be required to comply with this program, which will include obtaining an influenza vaccination on an annual basis or obtaining an approved exemption.

Decisions concerning employment, transfers and promotions are made upon the basis of the best qualified candidate without regard to color, race, religion, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, ancestry, status as a disabled or Vietnam era veteran or any other characteristic protected by law. Information provided on this application may be shared with any Cleveland Clinic Health System facility.

If applying for a Florida position, please see the following website for more information on the background screening requirements required by the Agency of Health Care Administration:

Please review the Equal Employment Opportunity poster.

Cleveland Clinic is pleased to be an equal employment opportunity employer.