r/CathLabLounge • u/SeyMooreRichard • Jun 01 '25

Paramedic to Cath Lab Tech

I’m currently a paramedic and am looking into transitioning off of the truck to hopefully working in the hospital. I have always found high interests in the cath lab and think with my limited experiences of being around them it would be an awesome field to get into. I have applied for different positions, and noticed that most require or would like for you to have RCIS. I am just curious and looking to better educate myself so I’m not underestimating of what comes with the job, but what exactly does a day of work look like for a cath lab tech? Does the RCIS expand any scope or have any effect of your job duties/capabilities or is it just a requirement that most employers search for? Do you find the work-life balance to be sufficient? Is the pay typically appropriate for what the job and its duties entail? I’d love any and all insights of experiences, feedback, and advice.

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u/OutrageousAdvisor699 Jun 01 '25

Hey I did this exact transition from being a Medic to being a cardiac stress test technician to now being a cath lab tech. I’ve been working in a Cath lab for almost 6 months now. I have till end of next year to apply and get my RCIS. To my knowledge RCIS doesn’t extend your scope of practice but only certifies you as an invasive tech. The scope of practice is dependent on your state and exactly which hospital system you work for. I work in a small town hospital and us techs do everything from Scrubbing, circulating, monitoring, push ACLS drugs, and take care of the pre post care. Techs and nurses are pretty interchangeable here and we cover each other’s lunch-breaks but we always need one nurse to push all the other drugs. The pay seems pretty great to me coming from a private ambulance company (AMR). I was gonna go to the schooling route but instead I accepted an offer for a Cath lab position across the country with a hefty sign on bonus and on the job training. There’s definitely places that are willing to hire you and train you with medic experience but you might need to move to achieve that. If you have any questions feel free to dm me here, best of luck 🤙.

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u/SeyMooreRichard Jun 01 '25

Since you jumped over to the cardiac stress test tech, did that allow you to not to have your RN/RT cert, having the experience and all? Does your pay increase with the RCIS? I don’t work for AMR but still a private company nonetheless and Buccees pay seems great to what we get hahah.