Cath Lab Nurse Resume Example & Guide (2026)
Cath lab hiring managers read resumes for procedural fluency: which roles you can staff (circulate, monitor, scrub if cross-trained), your moderate sedation competency, and whether you have taken STEMI call. Because most cath lab nurses come from ICU, PCU, or ED backgrounds, your resume should draw a straight line from that acuity to the lab — hemodynamics, vasoactive drips, ACLS-level emergency response.
Quantify the procedural volume recruiters use to gauge depth: cases per day, call shifts per month, door-to-balloon performance if your lab tracks it, access-site outcomes. Name device and procedure exposure honestly — diagnostic caths, PCI, structural heart cases, IABP support — and never list a procedure you have only observed. The example below uses the ATS-friendly structure hospital systems parse cleanly; swap in your own lab's numbers.
Cath lab nurse resume example
Rendered with the same engine that builds your PDF — fictional nurse, real structure.
Roberto Salinas, BSN, RN, CCRN
Professional Summary
Cath lab nurse with 3 years of procedural experience across diagnostic caths, PCI, and structural heart cases, built on 4 years of CVICU critical care. CCRN-certified, competent in moderate sedation and hemodynamic monitoring, carrying STEMI call 8–10 shifts per month.
Licenses & Certifications
- RN License, OH (Compact / multistate) — Exp. 11/2031
- CCRN (AACN Certification Corporation) — Exp. 02/2031
- ACLS (American Heart Association) — Exp. 01/2032
- BLS (American Heart Association) — Exp. 01/2032
Clinical Experience
- Staff circulator and monitor roles for 6–8 daily cases spanning diagnostic caths, PCI, and TAVR workups; administer moderate sedation with continuous hemodynamic and capnography monitoring.
- Carry STEMI call 8–10 shifts monthly with 30-minute response; team maintained median door-to-balloon of 62 minutes across 2025.
- Manage radial and femoral access sites post-procedure, performing 15+ sheath pulls monthly with zero retroperitoneal bleed complications on assigned cases.
- Support IABP insertions and emergent cases, running defibrillation and ACLS medications during 10+ intra-procedure arrests with return of circulation in 8.
- Managed 1:2 assignments of post-cardiac-surgery and post-PCI patients on multiple vasoactive drips, ventilators, and temporary pacing.
- Recovered 150+ post-cath and post-CABG patients annually, including IABP and Impella-supported cases.
- Earned CCRN in 2021 and precepted 6 nurses through CVICU orientation.
Education
Skills
Clinical: Moderate sedation, Hemodynamic monitoring, Radial & femoral access site management, Sheath removal, STEMI response, IABP support, Vasoactive titration, ACLS team leadership
Technical: Epic (Cupid), GE Mac-Lab hemodynamic recording, Philips monitoring, BD Alaris pumps
Additional
- Organization: American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), member since 2020
- Language: Spanish — native fluency; serve as informal interpreter resource during consent discussions
Cath Lab skills & keywords ATS scans for
Applicant tracking systems match on exact terms. Use the ones you genuinely have — in your skills section and inside your bullets.
- Cardiac catheterization
- PCI
- STEMI call
- Moderate sedation
- Hemodynamic monitoring
- Arterial access site management
- ACLS
- CCRN
- Radial and femoral access
- IABP
How to write a Cath Lab Nurse resume
- 01
State the roles you staff — circulator, monitor/recorder, sedation nurse — because labs hire to fill specific positions on the table.
- 02
Quantify call: 'STEMI call 8–10 shifts/month with 30-minute response requirement' tells a recruiter more than any adjective.
- 03
Include door-to-balloon or first-case on-time metrics if your lab tracks them; cath labs live on these numbers.
- 04
Name your pre/post skills too — sheath pulls, radial band management, access-site complication recognition — since many labs rotate nurses through holding.
- 05
Lead with your critical care pedigree (ICU/PCU/ED years, CCRN if held); it is the background cath lab managers screen for first.
FAQ
What background do cath labs hire from?
Most labs require 1–2 years of ICU, PCU, ED, or telemetry experience because you must run ACLS-level emergencies and titrate drips during cases. If you are applying from one of those units, put your acuity evidence — drips, codes, rhythm management — in your top bullets and state cath lab as your target role.
Do I need CCRN or RCIS for a cath lab nurse job?
Neither is required for RN roles. CCRN is respected because it validates the critical care background labs want; RCIS is the invasive cardiovascular specialist credential more common among techs, and some experienced cath lab RNs pursue it later. ACLS is the true non-negotiable — list it with its expiration.
How do I show moderate sedation competency?
List it as a named competency with volume: 'administer moderate sedation per policy for 6–8 cases daily with continuous hemodynamic and capnography monitoring.' Hospitals credential sedation nurses individually, so stating current competency and case volume tells the recruiter you can staff cases on day one after orientation.
Should I mention call requirements on my resume?
Yes — call tolerance is a genuine screening factor in cath lab hiring. A line like 'carried STEMI call 8 shifts/month with 30-minute response' shows you understand and have lived the commitment. Labs lose new hires to call burnout, so demonstrated call history reduces perceived hiring risk.