Senior Cardiopulmonary Perfusionist

Discover Vanderbilt Health: With eight hospitals and over 180 clinics, we are the region’s largest comprehensive academic health system. Vanderbilt Health has a long tradition of providing world-class care to the people of the Mid-South, living out our mission of moving medicine forward through preeminent programs in patient care, education and research. Here you’ll find a spirit of collaboration and a supportive community where your expertise is valued, your knowledge expanded and your uniqueness celebrated. We are committed to fostering an environment where talented, compassionate people are united in bringing the most advanced care to our neighbors throughout the region.

Organization

Adult Cardiac Surg Perfusion

Job Summary

What if your next career move placed you at the center of some of the most complex cardiovascular cases in the world?

At Vanderbilt University Medical Center, you'll join a nationally recognized cardiovascular team that is redefining what's possible in cardiac surgery, transplantation, ECMO, mechanical circulatory support, research, and education. This is more than a perfusion role. It's an opportunity to advance your expertise, contribute to groundbreaking clinical care, and help shape the next generation of perfusionists.

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Why Vanderbilt?

As a Perfusionist at Vanderbilt, you'll practice at the highest level of your profession, supporting patients across a broad spectrum of cardiovascular therapies, including:

• Adult cardiac surgery
• Heart and lung transplantation
• Ventricular Assist Devices (VADs)
• Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO)
• Organ procurement and recovery
• Advanced mechanical circulatory support

You'll work alongside world-renowned cardiovascular surgeons, intensivists, and multidisciplinary teams who are committed to innovation, excellence, and exceptional patient outcomes.

Practice Where Innovation Happens

Vanderbilt continues to set the standard in cardiovascular care and transplantation:

• Home to one of the nation's busiest critical care programs
• Home to the world's busiest heart, lung, and liver transplant program
• Established ECMO program supporting all areas of the hospital and regional transports to VUMC
• Successful NRP program supporting organ procurement and recovery
• A leading destination for advanced cardiovascular and biomedical research
• Record-breaking 918 solid organ transplants performed in FY25 across adult and pediatric programs

Grow Beyond the Pump

This role offers unique opportunities to expand your impact beyond clinical practice.

As an active participant in the Vanderbilt Cardiovascular Perfusion Technology Program, you'll have the opportunity to:

• Teach and mentor future perfusionists
• Lead simulation-based education
• Participate in academic and clinical instruction
• Contribute to innovative cardiovascular research
• Collaborate on program development and quality initiatives

What We Offer

• Competitive compensation and bonus opportunities
• Participation in nationally recognized cardiac and transplant research
• Career development within a world-class academic medical center
• Opportunities to teach, mentor, and lead
• Exposure to some of the most advanced cardiovascular therapies in the country
• A collaborative culture committed to professional growth and clinical excellence

Join a team where your expertise is valued, your growth is supported, and your impact is felt every day

Technical Capabilities

• Equipment Maintenance (Intermediate): Demonstrates mastery of preventive maintenance in practical applications of a difficult nature. Possesses sufficient knowledge, training, and experience to be capable of successfully maintaining equipment, products, or systems without requiring support and instruction from others. Able to conduct predictive maintenance on core products and equipment.
• Medical Terminology & Documentation (Intermediate): Demonstrates mastery of medical terminology and documentation in practical applications of a difficult nature. Possesses sufficient knowledge, training, and experience to be capable of successfully delivering results without requiring support and instruction from others. Able to train and educate by setting the example, giving instruction, providing leadership, and generally raising the level of performance of others while on the job.
• Procedures Knowledge (Intermediate): Demonstrates mastery of procedures knowledge in practical applications of a difficult nature. Possesses sufficient knowledge, training, and experience to be capable of successfully delivering procedures knowledge services without requiring support and instruction from others. Able to train and educate by setting the example, giving technical instruction, providing leadership, and generally raising the level of performance of others while on the job.
• Cardiopulmonary Perfusion (Advanced): Demonstrates the uppermost levels of expertise in applying cardiopulmonary perfusion knowledge in challenging and complex situations. Often takes a lead role in highly pressurized situations when there is a need to achieve results. Consistently delivers cardiovascular services in a creative and imaginative manner while setting a standard for others. Actively participates in outside professional organizations and forums. Contributes in the development of cardiovascular knowledge best practices for the organization.

Allied health is among the fastest growing occupations in healthcare today. This area can be defined as credentialed professionals who perform supportive, diagnostic, and therapeutic health care services to promote health and prevent disease in a variety of settings.

These areas are crucial to Vanderbilt Health’s reputation for excellence in these areas that has made us a major center for patient referrals from throughout the Mid-South.

Each year, people throughout Tennessee and the southeast choose Vanderbilt Health for their health care because of our leadership in medical science and our dedication to treating patients with dignity and compassion.

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Core Accountabilities

Organizational Impact: Independently delivers on objectives with understanding of how they impact the results of own area/team and other related teams. Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Utilizes multiple sources of data to analyze and resolve complex problems; may take a new perspective on existing solution. Breadth of Knowledge: Has advanced knowledge within a professional area and basic knowledge across related areas. Team Interaction: Acts as a "go-to" resource for colleagues with less experience; may lead small project teams.

Core Capabilities

Supporting Colleagues: - Develops Self and Others: Invests time, energy, and enthusiasm in developing self/others to help improve performance e and gain knowledge in new areas. - Builds and Maintains Relationships: Maintains regular contact with key colleagues and stakeholders using formal and informal opportunities to expand and strengthen relationships. - Communicates Effectively: Recognizes group interactions and modifies one's own communication style to suit different situations and audiences. Delivering Excellent Services: - Serves Others with Compassion: Seeks to understand current and future needs of relevant stakeholders and customizes services to better address them. - Solves Complex Problems: Approaches problems from different angles; Identifies new possibilities to interpret opportunities and develop concrete solutions. - Offers Meaningful Advice and Support: Provides ongoing support and coaching in a constructive manner to increase employees' effectiveness. Ensuring High Quality: - Performs Excellent Work: Engages regularly in formal and informal dialogue about quality; directly addresses quality issues promptly. - Ensures Continuous Improvement: Applies various learning experiences by looking beyond symptoms to uncover underlying causes of problems and identifies ways to resolve them. - Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Understands all aspects of providing a safe environment and performs routine safety checks to prevent safety hazards from occurring. Managing Resources Effectively: - Demonstrates Accountability: Demonstrates a sense of ownership, focusing on and driving critical issues to closure. - Stewards Organizational Resources: Applies understanding of the departmental work to effectively manage resources for a department/area. - Makes Data Driven Decisions: Demonstrates strong understanding of the information or data to identify and elevate opportunities. Fostering Innovation: - Generates New Ideas: Proactively identifies new ideas/opportunities from multiple sources or methods to improve processes beyond conventional approaches. - Applies Technology: Demonstrates an enthusiasm for learning new technologies, tools, and procedures to address short-term challenges. - Adapts to Change: Views difficult situations and/or problems as opportunities for improvement; actively embraces change instead of emphasizing negative elements.

Position Qualifications

Responsibilities

Certifications

Certified in Cardiovascular Perfusion - American Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion, LIC-Clinical Perfusionist - Tennessee

Work Experience

Relevant Work Experience

Experience Level

5 years

Education

Graduate of an approved discipline specific program

This role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact within Vanderbilt Health, supported by a comprehensive benefits package which may include health, disability, retirement and/or wellness offerings to enhance your well-being and professional growth.

Vanderbilt Health is committed to fostering an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and is committed to the principles of equal opportunity.  EOE/Vets/Disabled.