Clinical Exercise Physiologist

Boston Medical Center (BMC) is a leading healthcare provider in New England, committed to delivering high-quality patient care and advancing medical research. We are seeking a highly skilled Clinical Exercise Physiologist to join our team in the Cardiology department.

The Clinical Exercise Physiologist will be responsible for providing direct patient assessment and management in the BMC Stress Testing Laboratories and/or Cardiac Rehabilitation & Prevention Program. This includes evaluating patients for appropriateness of testing, patient safety, and correct type of test and protocol. The successful candidate will also be responsible for communicating pertinent information with supervising physicians, nurses, sonographers, and other physiologists, and ensuring communication with referring physicians as needed.

• Stress Testing Management: Evaluate patients for appropriateness of testing, patient safety, and correct type of test and protocol.
• Knowledge of ACSM stress testing guidelines: Ensure compliance with American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) guidelines for stress testing.
• Evaluates and performs stress testing of outpatients and inpatients: Conduct stress tests, including exercise tolerance tests, stress echocardiograms, dobutamine echocardiograms, metabolic stress tests, exercise nuclear stress tests, and pharmacological nuclear stress tests.
• Provides patient information, explains testing methods and procedures, and obtains patient consent: Ensure patients understand the testing process and provide informed consent.
• Selects appropriate testing protocol according to patient clinical presentation: Choose the most suitable testing protocol based on patient symptoms and medical history.
• Ensures recordings are of the best quality for diagnosis according to departmental practices and procedures: Ensure accurate and high-quality test results.
• Performs ongoing clinical assessment throughout the test by monitoring cardiovascular and pulmonary parameters: Monitor patient vital signs and symptoms during testing.
• Determines test duration and test termination as per BMC Stress Testing Lab Policy and ACSM guidelines: Ensure testing is completed safely and effectively.
• Calculates and records all necessary parameters, and provides initial interpretation of electrocardiographic tracings for diagnostic purposes: Analyze test results and provide initial interpretations.
• Creates the electronic record of exam, documentation of pertinent exam information, and data entry for charge capture: Maintain accurate and up-to-date patient records.
• Evaluates and communicates findings to medical personnel as required, following departmental practices and procedures: Share test results with healthcare team members.
• Responds to medical emergencies for Stress Testing Labs and BMC Non Invasive Cardiovascular Laboratories, and assists-physicians according to BMC Non-Invasive Lab policy: Provide emergency care and support as needed.
• Provides education and instruction to hospital personnel and students in methods and theories of stress testing: Share knowledge and expertise with colleagues and students.
• Inserts peripheral intravenous lines as needed according to BMC Non Invasive Lab Policy: Administer IV lines as required.
• Nuclear Stress Testing: Coordinate patient-specific imaging protocol with physician staff (Cardiology and/or Radiology), maintain Radiation safety standards per BMC Radiation policy and procedure guidelines, enter basic pre-test patient data and imaging data into Apollo (medical history, radiopharmaceutical doses and administration time, etc.).
• Cardiac Rehabilitation, PAD Rehab, & Prevention Program Management: Provide patient orientation to the Rehab Programs, review medical evaluation and implement treatment plan as developed by the Program Medical Director, develop specific exercise training program and training goals for each individual patient with reference to underlying medical conditions and risks of exercise, perform ongoing clinical assessment throughout sessions by monitoring all relevant cardiovascular parameters, coordinate & scheduling of all adjunctive rehab services including behavioral medicine, social work, nutrition, and tobacco treatment, evaluate and manage periodic Individualized Treatment Plans to achieve comprehensive risk reduction goals, interventions, outcomes, and effectiveness, utilize behavior modification techniques to implement change: goal setting, support, feedback, and patient empowerment, educate patients on cardiovascular/pulmonary topics including (but not limited to): Anatomy & Physiology, Cardiopulmonary Risk Factors, Stress Management, Exercise, and Medications.
• Assists in the scheduling of ancillary patient needs: interpreters, transportation, parking, completes and maintains clinical documentation of daily sessions, treatment plans, and patient discharge information, using available documentation programs, analyzes cardiac rehab program outcomes for group data as a foundation for quality improvement, collaborates and communicates with referring providers, including the provision of a written discharge summary, documents and reports exercise sessions, manages appointment scheduling, and initiates and ensures charge capture processes, maintains Cardiac Rehab Program standards to meet American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR) accreditation requirements, develops individual student programs including, supervision, instruction, and training all student interns, responds to medical emergencies for Stress Testing Laboratories and BMC Non Invasive Cardiovascular Laboratories, and assists-physicians according to BMC Non-Invasive Lab policy, maintain AACVPR staff competency requirements.
• Pulmonary Function Testing: Performs metabolic testing with indirect calorimetry, perform basic PFT testing.
• Other Duties: Maintains current knowledge in exercise testing, indirect calorimetry and cardiopulmonary rehabilitation through regular study of emerging literature, individual instruction by supervising staff, and participation in conferences at the department, local and national level, maintains a working knowledge of cardiovascular medications, has a working knowledge of 12-lead EKGs and rhythm strip interpretation, communicates/collaborates with members of multidisciplinary team (nursing, physicians, sonographers, local health centers, dieticians, behavioral medicine, respiratory therapists), maintains necessary records and files according to departmental practices and procedures, orders equipment and supplies as needed, actively participates in quality improvement initiatives in the Non-Invasive Cardiac Laboratories and Respiratory Department, demonstrates an ability to manage several concurrent tasks, work in flexible, team environment, maintains Boston Medical Center Behavioral Standards, demonstrates the knowledge and skills necessary to provide care appropriate to age groups of adult and geriatric patients regularly served, utilizes BMC Values as the basis for decision making and to facilitate the department and hospital's mission, follows established hospital infection control and safety procedures, performs other [additional and related] duties as needed, equipment management: ensures that all equipment is in working condition before each test, and troubleshoots all equipment needs, manages all technical components of equipment including use of exercise stress test systems, treadmills & bicycles, metabolic cart, vital sign monitors, mobile language interpretation devices, monitors Daily Quality Control including: glucometer, electronic refrigerator indicators, and defibrillator, maintains equipment and mobilizes service personnel as needed and/or informs chief physiologist for continued follow up and management.

• Bachelor's degree in Exercise Physiology; Master's Degree in Exercise Physiology Preferred; ACSM certified Preferred.
• BLS Required. ACLS preferred or achieved within 6 months of hire.
• 3 months in a hospital setting as an exercise physiologist or in Cardac Rehab setting.
• Work requires educational preparation from a Bachelor's program in exercise physiology, kinesiology, or exercise science.
• Experience in Cardiac/Pulmonary Rehabilitation setting and/or Stress Testing preferred.
• Ability to present professional literature/research at departmental Journal Club Education Series.
• Maintain self-directed continued education in the field of clinical exercise physiology, stress testing and/or rehabilitation.
• Interpersonal skills sufficient to work directly with patients and effectively interact with physicians, nurses, and other staff members.