Perfusionist is a medical professional trained to assist a cardiac surgeon who is performing complex cardiac surgeries. Perfusionist is an integral part of a cardiac surgical team and his major responsibility is to keep the cardiac surgical patient alive while cardiac surgeon is operating on him. Perfusionist is accomplishing this task by operating sophisticated medical equipment called “heart-lung machine”. This machine is used for supporting the circulatory and respiratory functions of the cardiac surgical patient while patient is undergoing the heart surgery.

High technical and coordinating skills are required to operate heart lung machine effectively and efficiently while keeping a constant monitoring of the physiologic and metabolic functions of the patient.

It is a perfusionist’s responsibility to ensure that patient’s respiratory and circulatory functions are normal and he is out of danger. If any changes are observed in the critical body functions of the patient, the same is immediately communicated to the cardiac surgeon. So a perfusionist should also possess good communication skills and the capability to work under extreme mental pressure. He should also have the ability to focus continuously on the perfusion process without having even a single mental distraction.

This field is highly suited for the candidates who are genuinely interested in the medical field and who is ready to serve the critical cardiac patients. Minimum qualification required to enter this field is at least a bachelor’s degree with specialization in medical technology, respiratory therapy, or perfusion procedure. Length of the specialized perfusionist programs varies from one to four years.

After the successful completion of the relevant course, candidates are required to have a license or certification from the authorized medical agencies such as Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion, to start his practice.

Perfusionists are largely employed by government hospitals, private hospitals and nursing homes, multispecialty hospitals, cardiac hospitals, heart and lung institutes, corporate companies active in the field of perfusion services, cardiac research organizations etc.