The cardiac MRI team is seeking an experienced sedation nurse to join us at Children’s National Heart Institute. Our specialized hybrid MRI suite combines MRI and cardiac catheterization, allowing us to obtain detailed diagnostic images and perform cardiac catheterizations in the least invasive, safest way possible.
In a partnership with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, we're also enhancing the safety of imaging through MRI. The joint team’s work will translate clinically to more streamlined use of MRI, which is radiation-free. The initiative seeks to enhance the speed and quality of MRI machines and reduce the need to sedate children getting an MRI; increasing the capability of MRI to take fetal images; developing better, pediatric-specific catheters for probing the heart and blood vessels; and incorporating an incubator into an MRI scanner to enable procedures on premature babies.
Our heart team is pioneering new ways to harness the power of MRI, so we can provide you with the safest, most effective diagnosis and treatment possible. In our hybrid suite, we combine the powerful imaging technology of an MRI with the precision and detail of the catheterization lab.
Features of our cardiac MRI hybrid suite include:
- Minimal exposure to radiation. Traditional cardiac catheterization uses radiation. While we always use the lowest dose possible, we are working to minimize radiation exposure even more. By using MRI technology to guide a catheterization procedure, we are able to obtain detailed images with minimal or no radiation exposure.
- 3-D images. The 3-D MRI technology allows us to take the images we get from the MRI study and view them from every angle. This gives us more information about the patient's condition, helping us treat them more efficiently.
- Specialized team. Our team consists of pediatric specialists who have dedicated their careers to pediatric heart care. Our experienced cardiac MRI technologists have extensive training in pediatric cardiac imaging. While many heart programs are adult-centered and may also treat children, our focus is entirely on treating infants, children, and adolescents.
- Convenient. If a patient needs both an MRI and a catheterization procedure, we may be able to perform them at the same time if the patient meets certain criteria. This reduces the amount of sedation required.
- Comprehensive evaluation. Echocardiography, an ultrasound for the heart, is a popular, safe diagnostic tool. However, as children get physically bigger, the echo may be less effective. We use cardiac MRI extensively for adolescents and adults with congenital heart disease because it offers the most comprehensive, detailed evaluation available.
- Next level of cardiac care. Our team continues to investigate and advance the field of cardiac imaging. We are one of the few hospitals in the world working on capabilities that will allow us to do cardiac interventional procedures in the MRI suite. This will lead to the most minimally invasive and effective procedure for our patients.
We use cardiac MRI to diagnose congenital heart defects and provide noninvasive evaluation for complex conditions, such as:
Radiology Sedation Nursing encompasses the care of the patient and family/legal guardian. Pre-sedation, sedation, monitoring, and post sedation services are provided to care for a range of ages from infants to adults. The Radiology Sedation Nurse is responsible for the sedation needs of the patient in collaboration with anesthesiologists and radiologists. In addition to the sedation activities, the radiology sedation nurses care for the acute and critically ill patient population during radiology exams and procedures and collaboration with the radiology team to facilitate patient flow through the scheduled exams or procedures. Patient care activities include peripheral and central line access, Contrast administration, urinary catheterizations, assessing/triaging phone consults and requests, pre-procedure patient and family education and support during the exam or procedure. The radiology teams welcome the nursing lead on safety and emergency equipment checks and regulatory compliance responsibilities.
