Careers

Career Description

Caring for over 300,000 Airmen and their families takes the hard work and dedication of thousands of individuals. As a Cardiopulmonary Laboratory specialist, you'll be trained to assist doctors who diagnose and treat diseases of the heart and lungs. You'll learn how to perform blood tests, electrocardiograms, ultrasounds and assist with catheterizations. With a good bedside manner and extensive training, you can help make a real difference in the lives of your patients.

Career Tasks

• Work with doctors and other health professionals in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the heart and lungs
• Involved in one of four distinct areas of medical care: respiratory therapy, pulmonary diagnostics, invasive cardiology or noninvasive cardiology
• Perform pulmonary (lung) diagnostic studies and assist in long-term respiratory therapy, including the use of sophisticated life-support equipment to assist patients in breathing
• Draw blood from patients and perform blood tests to determine the oxygen levels, as well as other measurements
• Perform electrocardiograms and ultrasound tests
• Assist in catheterization and other special studies of the heart
• Become proficient in life-support skills and the use of modern equipment to provide the most advanced techniques in patient care
• Provide compassionate care for patients who have various diseases of the heart and lungs

Relevant Interests & Skills

• Health and Medicine
• Science
• Mathematics
• Computers and Electronics

Training

After eight-and-a-half weeks of Basic Military Training, every Airman goes to technical training to learn their career. Here's the basic information about Cardiopulmonary Laboratory technical training:

School location: Ft. Sam Houston [TX]

Length of course: 233 days

College degree earned: Bioenvironmental Engineering Technology

College credits earned: 74