Catheterization laboratory

They both came through an AS cardiovascular technology program and built strong foundations in cardiac, vascular, and structural heart cases.

Kat stepped into a role where she trained across every position in the cath lab, circulating, monitoring, scrubbing, and administering sedation, developing a wide operational view very early in her career.

Jess, on the other hand, started in a more traditional tech role, focusing on monitoring, scrubbing and circulating with equipment.

But while working full time, she made the decision to go back to school for nursing, expanding her scope, stepping into new responsibilities and eventually working across all roles in the lab as well.

this conversation is going to feel a little more real, a little more honest, and probably a lot more unfiltered.

We're going to walk through hypothetical but very real scenarios you might find yourself in, moments where you have to speak up, moments where you're unsure, and moments where the right decision isn't super obvious.

We'll be grounding this in the Cath Lab because that's where their experience lives.

But if you're listening from another area of health care or even outside of it entirely, I want you to listen for the decision-making, not just the health care setting.

So I went back to school, I got a radiology degree and I loved it.

And shortly after that, I mean, I think I did general x-ray for about a year before I heard about the cardiac cath lab.

And I just kind of molded into that world and It was kind of like I hated it and loved it at the same time because it was one of the hardest things I ever had to learn.

And I thought, you know, writing books would be a lot easier than this, but it grew on me.

She's kind of torn between, well, is her life going to be destroyed, whether she finds out or not, it could be either way.

And so that's kind of how the story just unfolds throughout.

And also, I based it in the setting is in the cardiac cath lab, because that's why I work.

And I don't think I've ever read any stories about cath labs.

Oh, uh, great question.

So, um, I'm the director of the cath lab at Bellevue Hospital, so I'm also the director of the CTO program.

So my practice is mainly, uh, complex coronary intervention.

I also do, uh, PE, ECMOs, AngioVacs, you know, wear multiple different hats.

Clear the blockages.

Then he had me put in parentheses like Cath Lab time, which was an interesting vision that he gave me we can talk about.

It said, rid my body of fear, lies doubt busyness confusion ignorance empire doubt a mindset of lack and torment

when he said when he said remove my body a roof from removed from my body Are we talking like – is this almost first person, like removed from ourselves, or is it removed from his body, being the church?

I do think that he was speaking on multiple levels.

He was looking at the individual and the big picture of his body, the body of Christ, the church.

And the cath lab, what he showed me was a body.

And he said, this is my body.