Cardiac/Pulmonary Rehab Specialist

The Cardiac/Pulmonary Rehab Specialist plays a vital role in helping patients return to their baseline health or achieve improved functional capacity following a cardiac or pulmonary event.

This position focuses on designing, implementing, and evaluating individualised exercise and lifestyle management programs that promote recovery, reduce risk factors, and enhance overall quality of life.

Responsibilities include comprehensive patient assessment, such as medical history review, vital sign monitoring, ECG interpretation, and functional capacity testing.

Working as part of a multidisciplinary team, the specialist provides education on medication compliance, stress management, symptom recognition, and healthy lifestyle practices.

Additional duties include developing and updating treatment plans, ensuring accurate documentation, supporting inpatient mobility, and contributing to patient safety and quality improvement initiatives.

The role also involves mentoring new staff and fostering continuous improvement in departmental protocols and patient satisfaction.

Essential Functions

• Demonstrates foundational knowledge pertaining to the design, evaluation, and standards of exercise programs for Cardiac and/or Pulmonary Rehab patients.
• Trained to obtain a medical history through patient interview and review of the medical record.
• Assigns and instructs appropriate exercise levels and/or modalities with respect to the patients' age, health status, physical and/or mental limitations, and capacity to perform within the exercise prescription set forth by the patient's physician.
• Functions as an essential member of a multidisciplinary team by directing, coordinating, and providing special expertise to staff, patient, and families.
• Provides immediate and ongoing education/information to patient/participants regarding monitoring of their vital signs in class and at home, prescription and OTC medications, coronary artery disease risk factors, modification of exercise with regards to temperature extremes, stress reduction techniques, recognition of angina and heart attack symptoms, and appropriate increases/changes in workloads.
• Provides inpatient mobility, activities of daily living, and education following a developed plan of care per delegation by therapists or floor RN.
• Obtains and records patient vital signs, BP, HR, O2 sats as assigned.
• Completes individualised treatment plans for cardiac and/or pulmonary rehab patients.
• Participates in quality and patient safety initiatives.
• Assists in training new caregivers and students, and other duties assigned.

Skills

• Clinical assessment and monitoring
• EKG interpretation
• Symptom recognition
• Functional capacity testing
• Exercise programming
• Patient education and coaching
• Communication
• Patient Care
• Documentation
• Care coordination
• Technical proficiency to include use of rehab equipment, telemetry systems, and clinical tools

Minimum Qualifications

• Actively enrolled in a bachelor’s program (to be completed in 3-5 years) or Bachelor's degree in a related field (Exercise Physiology, Exercise Science, Kinesiology)
• Current Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers (BLS-HCP)
• Current Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) / (PALS for pediatrics) certification as required by facility
• Successfully completes a formal EKG interpretation and arrhythmia detection course within 6 months of hire

Preferred Qualifications

• One (1) year of cardiac and/or pulmonary rehab experience