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Clinical scientist, cardiac science

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Clinical scientists working in cardiac sciences perform a range of clinical and scientific diagnostic procedures to assess patients' cardiac function

You'll work directly with patients of all ages who have known or suspected heart disease, conducting and monitoring complex diagnostic tests and interpreting the results. Tests include:

  • electrocardiograms (ECGs)
  • exercise tolerance tests
  • tilt tests
  • 24-hour heart monitors.

Working as part of a multidisciplinary healthcare team, you will also play a key role in interventional procedures such as pacemaker implantation and follow-up, angiograms and angioplasty.

Doctors who specialise in cardiology follow a very different qualification route. For more information, see cardiologist.

Responsibilities

As a clinical scientist working in cardiac sciences, you'll need to:

  • carry out echocardiography, a non-invasive ultrasound procedure, to obtain images of a patient's heart and diagnose diseases which may affect its structure or function
  • monitor patients during exercise stress tests (typically on a treadmill) to assess whether the blood vessels in their hearts are functioning correctly
  • assist with pacemaker and implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation procedures, and perform follow-up procedures and monitoring
  • program and analyse pacemaker or ICD devices to ensure they're functioning correctly
  • monitor patients' heart pressure, rhythm and rate during medical procedures such as angiograms, angioplasty and pacemaker implantation
  • perform additional diagnostic procedures, such as electrocardiography, to detect rhythm or structural abnormalities in a patient's heart
  • discuss treatments and procedures with patients and/or parents and carers to ensure they have understood everything
  • interpret, evaluate and report the results of tests, providing key information about a patient's condition to other medical professionals such as cardiologists and surgeons
  • keep accurate and detailed records of patient information and test outcomes.

At more senior levels, you will also:

  • teach, train or supervise trainee clinical scientists and other members of the healthcare team
  • conduct research, audits and service evaluations in addition to performing diagnostic tests
  • take on management responsibilities, overseeing resources such as staff, budgets or equipment.

Salary

  • Jobs in the NHS are usually covered by Agenda for Change (AfC) pay rates, which consist of nine pay bands. Trainee clinical scientists in England are usually employed at Band 6, starting at £37,338.
  • Once qualified, you're likely to be employed on Band 7 - £46,148 to £52,809.
  • Salaries for principal and consultant clinical scientists can range from £53,755 (Band 8a) to £121,271 (Band 9), depending on your skills, experience, training and qualifications.

Those working in London and the surrounding areas may receive a high-cost area supplement of between 5% and 20% of their basic salary.

Salaries for clinical scientists working for private companies, universities, government bodies and other organisations may vary.

AfC pay bands differ across the four countries of the UK. Pay negotiation happens annually at different times, so salaries will change when each country agrees their new pay award. Check your country's AfC scales for the most up-to-date NHS salary information.

Income figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

You'll usually work a 37.5 hour week, which may include shift work.

Opportunities for part-time work are available.

What to expect

  • You'll usually work in a busy, fast-paced hospital department, dealing with a high level of patient numbers. You'll be part of a multidisciplinary healthcare team including anaesthetists, cardiologists, healthcare science practitioners, nurses, operating department practitioners, radiographers and surgeons.
  • You'll have a lot of direct contact with patients, ranging from babies to the elderly, who may be very distressed.
  • Jobs are available in hospitals throughout the UK.
  • The three-year training programme can be challenging, and you'll need to be highly organised from the very start. Make the most of any opportunities to develop your skills and make sure you keep a healthy work-life balance.
  • During your NHS training, you'll work in different hospital laboratories to get a range of experience. You may need to travel to training centres in other parts of the country as part of the programme rotations, so may have to stay there for a few weeks at a time. You'll also have to travel to university to complete an accredited part-time Masters degree. Once qualified, you may sometimes visit other hospitals or clinics and will also travel to attend or present at national meetings and events.

Qualifications

To become a clinical scientist in cardiac sciences, you will usually complete the NHS Scientist Training Programme (STP), a three-year, full-time, work-based learning and training programme that also includes academic study at Masters level.

Entry requirements include a first or 2:1 undergraduate degree or an integrated Masters degree in a relevant physiological sciences subject, such as biology, human biology or physiology.

You can also apply if you have a 2:2 undergraduate degree in any subject and have a higher degree in a relevant subject.

Getting good academic results, relevant research experience through a Masters or PhD, and relevant work experience is helpful for all applicants.

Applications to the STP are made via Oriel, the online application portal for postgraduate healthcare science training programmes. Recruitment takes place annually, usually in January. There is only a short application window, and late applications are not accepted.  

You must pass all stages of the recruitment process, which includes an online situational judgement test (JST), online application and a panel interview. Sample questions for the JST are available on the Pearson VUE website.

You can only apply to one specialty, so do your research before applying to ensure it's the right specialism for you. Not all specialties are recruited to each year and depend on NHS needs.

If successful, you'll be employed by an NHS Trust (or in some cases by an NHS private partner or private healthcare provider) as a trainee clinical scientist on a fixed-term contract for the duration of the programme and paid a salary. The first year of training is spent on rotation in a range of settings before specialising in years two and three.

Training includes:

  • a programme of workplace training
  • fully funded, part-time study for an approved and accredited Masters degree specialising in cardiac science
  • a final assessment of competence.

If you already work for the NHS, you can apply to the STP as an internal candidate.

Upon completion, you will receive a Certificate of Completion for the Scientist Training Programme (CCSTP) from the National School of Healthcare Science (NSHCS), allowing you to register with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) as a clinical scientist. 

The NSHCS website has more advice on how to apply, including competition ratios for each specialism.

For information on training in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, see:  

Other routes to HCPC registration as a clinical scientist are offered by the:

If you don't already have a degree, you can apply for the NHS Practitioner Training Programme (PTP), which provides undergraduate training leading to a BSc (Hons) Healthcare Science (Cardiac Physiology). Courses are full time (usually three years) and include both work-based and academic learning.

It's also possible to do a Level 6 healthcare science degree apprenticeship in cardiac physiology, which combines paid work with part-time study for a degree. 

After graduating, you're eligible to apply for Professional Standards Authority (PSA) Accredited Voluntary Registration via the AHCS as a healthcare science practitioner. If you have a 2:1 or above you could also apply to the STP. 

Skills

You'll need to have:

  • excellent interpersonal and communication skills, as the role involves a lot of contact with patients
  • scientific knowledge and technical ability to use modern technology and complex equipment
  • the ability to organise and carry out research
  • an analytical and investigative mindset for interpreting scientific and clinical test results
  • effective problem-solving skills
  • the ability to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team with other medical professionals
  • meticulous documentation and record keeping skills
  • attention to detail and the ability to work with speed and accuracy
  • the ability to work under pressure and to plan and prioritise your work load
  • a high level of self-motivation, emotional resilience, reliability and good self-awareness
  • a flexible approach to work with the ability to adapt to changing circumstances, new technologies and techniques
  • the ability to make judgements that impact on patients' lives
  • the skills to lead and motivate others and to progress into a senior role
  • project management skills
  • a commitment to lifelong learning to keep up to date with the latest scientific and medical research in cardiac sciences.

Work experience

Entry on to the STP is competitive and there are many more applicants than places available. You'll need to be familiar with the programme, the specialism you're applying to and what you'll be doing.   

To improve your chances, you could:

  • arrange a visit to a cardiac department to find out more about the role
  • work shadow a clinical scientist in your local hospital cardiac department (you could speak to your university careers service or academic staff at your university to see if they have any relevant contacts)
  • volunteer on an NHS hospital ward, to give you an insight in to what it's like to work in an NHS setting and to show your commitment
  • work as a healthcare assistant or do some paid or voluntary work in a care setting, for example in a care home or hospice
  • complete a placement as part of your degree or Masters course
  • get involved in research projects and publications during your studies
  • attend an open day for the audiology specialism to gain an insight into the role and STP programme
  • speak to people on the STP programme to find out what it's like to be an STP trainee so you can show that you understand the role and the commitment involved.  

You may need to think creatively - being active in a university society, having a part-time job or getting involved in youth groups, for example, can also provide you with transferable skills such as teamwork, communication and time management.   

It's good to have a range of life experiences so you can show your range of skills.

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Employers

The main employer of clinical scientists working in cardiac sciences in the UK is the NHS, where you'll work in cardiology departments. Trainees are usually employed by an NHS teaching hospital.

Opportunities also exist with:

  • private healthcare providers, such as BUPA and Nuffield Health
  • organisations that provide cardiac screening services such as Cardiac Risk in the Young
  • universities, for example in a research or teaching role.

Look for job vacancies at:

Professional development

Continuing professional development (CPD) is an essential part of continuing your HCPC registration. You must engage in a variety of CPD activities, including:

  • work-based learning, such as in-service training, expanding your role
  • active participation in professional bodies such as the Society for Cardiological Science and Technology (SCST)
  • self-directed learning, such as reading articles and published papers
  • attending conferences, workshops and lectures
  • undertaking work exchanges abroad
  • applying for research grants.

Professional development courses and webinars are run by the SCST.

Once you've got experience (usually at least one year post-registration), you may apply to train to become a consultant clinical scientist via the Higher Specialist Scientist Training (HSST) programme. This five-year funded training programme includes study at doctoral level in an area of audiological sciences.

Successful completion of the HSST programme leads to the award of Certificate of Completion of Higher Specialist Scientist Training (CCHSST) issued by the NSHCS, which you can use to join the AHCS HSS Register. 

You can also study for a traditional PhD and get involved in research. You'll need to get your research published in a peer-reviewed journal and present it at conferences if you want to move into an academic career.   

Career prospects

The NHS offers a structured career path and once qualified, you can progress through the grades by gaining experience and completing further training, study and research. Promotion is based on merit, and you may need to move to other hospitals to make the most of available opportunities.

As you get more experience and knowledge, you can move into more specialised roles within cardiac science. For example, you could specialise in an investigation such as echocardiography with a focus on stress or transoesophageal echocardiogram (TOE). Alternatively, you could work with a specific patient population, such as those with heart failure. You'll need enhanced skills in leadership and patient management to take on these types of roles.

As your career develops, you can take on a more supervisory role with responsibility for the work of your department. Progression to consultant involves further training via the HSST programme. Promotion to deputy head or head of department is likely to involve the management of a large department or major departmental section. It's possible to gain a senior position by making a significant contribution in your area of expertise.

There are opportunities to move into clinical research, working for a university or research institute, or to get involved in training and registration assessments.

You can also develop your career by getting involved with professional bodies, taking on external professional roles or moving into an advisory role. It's also possible to move into industry as a clinical applications specialist, working on behalf of a company that sells cardiac diagnostic equipment, for example. There are also some opportunities to move into general management roles within the NHS or in industry.

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