News from the Society of Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals (SICP)

Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals, CCI Needs Your Input on the RCIS Validation Survey

CCI (Cardiovascular Credentialing International) is requesting your assistance to help plan the future of the Registered Cardiovascular Invasive Specialist (RCIS) Certification Program. 

As a step to assure quality and relevance, CCI conducts reviews of its various examination programs to ensure that they continue to be relevant to what the professional does on a daily basis. In May, a group of testing experts and invasive cardiovascular specialists met to review the current RCIS examination blueprint. After reviewing the exam blueprint, the subject matter experts recommended revising the blueprint of the content and adjusting the relative weight or emphasis given to content areas on the examination.

The next phase of this process is a short survey for invasive cardiovascular professionals to “validate” the revised content and test weighting. This survey is only seven pages and should not take more than twenty minutes to complete. If you do not have time to complete the survey in one sitting, you can stop and complete the survey later (provided you use the same computer and have cookies enabled on that computer). The survey will resume where you left off.

The examination and credentialing process helps establish and maintain standardization for the profession. CCI appreciates everyone taking the time to complete the survey. Greater numbers of responses from individuals will increase the validity of the survey, so please share this with your colleagues who are part of the invasive cardiovascular care team. To begin the survey, go to the following link, which will be active until Monday, July 30:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RCIS2012

Responses will be kept confidential, and we appreciate your assistance. If you have any questions or experience difficulty responding, please feel free to contact CCI headquarters at 1-800-326-0268. For more information about CCI and the RCIS, visit www.cci-online.org.

MAC Foundation Established in Honor of Melissa A. Carpenter

By Leigh Ann Miller, BS, RCIS,
Sentara College, Chesapeake, Virginia

“Legacy Embracing Education” has a strong meaning for friends and family of Melissa A. Carpenter. These individuals were touched and inspired over the years of working with Melissa in the field of cardiology. These same individuals have come together to create the MAC Foundation.

The MAC Foundation will award $1,500 yearly in honor of Melissa to a senior student attending the Sentara Cardiovascular Technology Program who demonstrates Melissa’s strong qualities, dedication and work ethic. Melissa helped transform the role of the cardiac provider by demonstrating leadership and providing guidance to those around her.

The first-ever Melissa A. Carpenter Foundation Award was presented to Charles “Chuck” Matthews during the Sentara College of Health Professions 2012 graduation. In order to be chosen for this award, a student must demonstrate these attributes consistently throughout their didactic and clinical experience. This award includes a plaque for the recipient, the recipient’s name engraved on a plaque that will hang in the college and a cash award of $1,500.

SICP Porcine Heart Wet Lab at NCVH 2012 Provides Hands-on Experience

All photos by Dei Griffin.

Participants in the June 7 and 8th 2012 SICP Wet Lab, held in conjunction with the 13th New Cardiovascular Horizons Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, worked on pigs’ hearts and received direct supervision from seasoned cath lab professionals Sally Elliott, RCIS, FSICP, and Mike Buie, BS, RCES, RCIS. The Porcine Heart Dissection Wet Lab participants received a hands-on learning experience of gross cardiac anatomy.

Those cath lab professionals who partook in the wet lab experience learned to associate anatomical structure with cardiac physiologic and hemodynamic findings, to correlate cardiac structural pathophysiology, and to associate challenges present in interventional cardiology.