Cardiology Field Experience

One of my areas of interest is specialty training in Cardiology. Issues like hypertension and heart failure are commonplace among many patients, and there is an increase in these conditions with age. To get a better understanding of the field, I had an opportunity to discuss this field with PA Lale, who has worked in the Electrophysiology Section Division of Cardiology at the University of xxx for over 25 years. I learned a lot about the challenges that PAs face, along with the opportunities available to them.

Over the past three decades, Lale has seen many changes and improvements in the cardiology profession. In addition, he described himself as lucky to be able to get early hands-on experience in routine procedures, such as central line

Layle’s experience, he is in a unique position to see the challenges that PAs face in the cardiology field. Based on the interview, the biggest challenge for PAs is the exposure and familiarity. Many physicians and organizations are familiar with nurse practitioners, and when they need to get assistance, they tend to look for an NP instead of a PA. Many nurse practitioners in cardiology are former nurses in ICU or cardiology units that sought higher education at NP school. Even though they have a lot of exposure, they are limited in experience with procedures and other hands-on practices. Based on the numbers he provided during the interview, the ratio of PAs to NPs is around 1 to 7. He explained this skewed ratio is due to how PAs and NPs are viewed by doctors and human resources. PAs are viewed as doctor assistants that need constant co-signing of a doctor for all their tasks, but NPs are viewed as being fully independent providers who can perform all tasks a doctor can perform. Even though these are major misconceptions, very little effort is made to correct

In the East coast, South, and Midwest, there are more PAs working as Cardiology PAs compared to cardiology NPs. However, at the time of the interview, NPs dominated the cardiology field in the West Coast and the State of Washington. Although the many responsibilities of NPs and PAs overlap, NPs lack the hands-on experience of PAs, meaning PAs can take on tasks that NPs cannot. This unique opportunity is what makes cardiology a prime specialty for PA graduates to seek out. Another opportunity for PA graduates is the licensing. Even though the American Association of PA (AAPA) does make recommendations on how PAs should be licensed or monitored, each state can still implement its own procedures for doing