Clinical Perfusion
Clinical perfusionists are health care professionals who operate heart-lung machines (which work as artificial blood pumps to propel blood through the body while a surgeon operates on the heart) and manage the physiological and metabolic demands of a patient during heart surgeries. They also administer the drug that stops the heart for those surgeries. Most of the time, perfusionists can be found in the operating room, but they sometimes also work in catheterization labs and cardiovascular intensive care units.
Student Resources
Professional Associations and Accreditation
Entrance Exam
Professional programs in clinical perfusion typically require the GRE as an entrance exam. If interested in a specific program, inquire with that program about entrance exam requirements. Learn more about the GRE
here.
Selected Regional Programs
Important Note:
Consult the admissions/application web pages of the professional programs for information on required pre-requisite courses and admissions tests, application procedures, and application deadlines. Some professional/graduate programs will not accept AP or CLEP credits, online courses, or correspondence courses for the core science and math pre-requisite requirements. Many programs also require that all pre-requisite coursework be completed within a certain period of time, e.g., within 5 years prior to application. Policies vary by school and program. Be sure you know the requirements