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Cardiologist Educational Requirements

Ujwal Deshmukh
To succeed as cardiologist, one requires high education, hard work and dedication. Read on to know the educational requirements, the job description and salary range of this profile.
Health care positions are always in demand, and the same is the case in the United States too. In the recent past, more and more people are taking up jobs in the fields like occupational therapy, speech therapy, audiology, and of course cardiology too!
Well, the reasons are definitely the decent pay scale, excellent career prospects, and perhaps the satisfaction of pursuing a noble career.
Cardiology! You might have heard this word many times, especially when it comes to curing problems pertaining to the blood vessels and the heart.
It is a special and independent branch of study relating to heart and blood vessel disorders. Not only this, it also deals with identification, diagnosis, and treatment of heart failure, coronary artery diseases, valvular heart diseases, and the likes.
Cardiologists and cardiac surgeons are different and have different responsibilities and tasks to perform. While physicians in the field of cardiology find, treat or prevent the heart and blood vessel diseases and carry out the heart related tests are termed as cardiologists, the cardiac surgeons perform surgeries of heart.

Education Requirements for a Cardiologist

Tougher the job, tougher are the educational requirements. Pursuing a career in cardiology is not an exception to it. Becoming a cardiologist requires a lot of patience and a detailed study of the various subjects pertaining to cardiology. In short, the cardiologist education requirements are a lot.
To become a cardiologist you need to start with science subjects and score well in all of them. The next step is to obtain a graduate degree and successfully complete a Doctor of Medicine program of four years from a recognized college or university.
This is followed by a three years residency program in internal medicine, and also a three-year cardiology fellowship that has specialized training in cardiology, which includes training in echocardiography, heart transplants, and noninvasive cardiac imaging.
About two years are spent in clinical training, and almost four to five months are spent in the catheterization laboratory. To seek a job as a cardiologist in any health care organization, it is necessary to obtain a state license and be certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Cardiologist Job Description

A cardiologist's job is a specialized one, and being the department head, the cardiologist has to perform many duties and tasks. Here is an overview of the cardiologist's job description.
  • The core job of a cardiologist includes diagnosing and treating diseases related to the heart and the entire cardiovascular system.
  • Conducting tests like electrocardiograms in order to diagnose related problems.
  • Coordinating with the cardiac surgeons for various treatments and patient information.
  • Documenting cases and preserving medical records for further references.
  • Using highly specialized medical equipment to conduct various tests, and also maintaining all those equipment for effective patient care.
  • Carrying out administrative work associated to the departments, such as managing patient appointments, and looking after office and medical supplies in absence of the assistant.
  • Updating oneself on everything related to the latest heart studies and procedures.
  • Advise patients on the required diet, preferably devising a diet plan for the patients.
  • Advise patients on a suitable exercise schedule that he or she needs to follow according to the case.

Cardiologist Salary Range

Cardiology, although being an independent area of research and work, has several other specialized branches. The average salary of some of the branches of cardiology are mentioned further.
The median salary of a pediatric cardiologist per year is around US $217,000 and that of an invasive cardiologist is around US $376,700. Interventional cardiologists are also highly paid and their salary is around US $400,000. However, irrespective of the branches, the average salary of a cardiologist is about US $244,000 per year.
Becoming a cardiologist is not an easy task, and it requires several years of study and training to fulfill all the cardiologist educational requirements. However, looking at the high salary ranges and enormous career opportunities, this is an excellent career option, and hence has a huge scope for career development!!