Hello, my name is Caitlin. I am currently an RN working in the Cardiovascular Lab (Cath Lab) at Hays Medical Center in Hays, Kansas. I graduated in 2018 with my ADN and have been working on my BSN since. After graduating, I started on the Cardiac Progressive Care Unit at Hays Med and then went to the Cath Lab. I have been working in cardiology since graduation and have no desire to do anything different. I have grown to love cardiology and everything about it.

When it comes to research in the Cath Lab there are so many different things to research. We are in the process of starting an Electrophysiology (EP) program in the Cath Lab so I have done a lot of research about the different EP procedures and the different protocols for them. We are also expanding our Cath Lab procedures. We recently starting doing Watchman procedures – a left atrial appendage closure device. We, as a team, have put a lot of time into researching different things like how long after the procedure the patient should be on Eliquis or how long after the post-TEE should the patient be on Plavix and aspirin. There are so many things that go into starting new procedures and through research we are able to come up with our own protocols and policies. I am so excited to learn new and different ways to continue my research with this class. I also hope I am able to take that research with me to my job!