Telemetry Technician Salary
Cardiac care is a rapidly growing branch of the healthcare sector that has a significant number of professional opportunities and can provide a reasonable telemetry technician salary to one who is wanting to deliver care without needing a license. Demand for allied health personnel in this specialty has risen over the past few years along with an increased prevalence of chronic diseases such as that of diabetes and obesity. These conditions have devastating effects on a body and might result in long-term problems with the cardiovascular system.
Heart Disease in the United States
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 720,000 Americans experience a heart attack each year. In addition, heart disease accounts for 1 out of every 4 deaths and costs the US over $100 billion every year in medical services, medications, and lost productivity. Top contributing factors that have resulted in these disturbing statistics include diabetes, obesity, poor dietary behaviors, sedentary lifestyles, and alcohol use. As the prevalence of these medical problems continues to rise, industry experts believe that the number of allied health job openings and the size of the telemetry technician salary will expand along with opportunities in other medical professions.
The Use of Telemetry in Medicine
Telemetry is a very useful remote monitoring technology that is used in several different industries including oil and gas explorations, agriculture, healthcare, space explorations, defense, and many others. In the medical field, providers use the technology to observe the activity of the heart from a remote monitoring center. This allows individuals to have more freedom to move around while they are in the hospital and helps providers gain insight into the health of a patient’s heart by seeing how it reacts during resting and active situations. Most monitoring departments hire registered nurses and unlicensed assistants who work together to care for patients.
An Employee’s Role Within the Facility
Although some people specialize in telemetry and spend much of their careers monitoring patients, it is fairly common for an employee in the cardiovascular department to conduct other activities along with monitoring. The roles that an individual has within a particular organization can vary based on a number of factors including the types of services offered to the public, needs of the facility, and the job title that has been assigned to the employees. In several cases, the director will use the cardiovascular technologist or technician title to classify those who participate in patient monitoring. The amount of a telemetry technician salary may also be affected by the responsibilities that have been assigned to the individual with those who have additional tasks earning more.
National Salary Statistics
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual wage for the cardiovascular technologists or technicians in May 2013 was $53,990. The median hourly rate was $25.58 with the top 10% taking home over $39.87 per hour and the bottom 10% earning less than $13.37 per hour. The wide range of potential compensation demonstrates the effects that several factors can have on earning ability. In general, those who are working primarily in the monitoring center without performing additional cardiac procedures in the department can expect to receive a lower telemetry technician salary than would be offered to those employees who also administer electrocardiograms, echocardiograms, stress tests, Holter monitoring, and other common cardiovascular tests.
The Type of Employing Organization
One of the important factors to consider when assessing earning potential is the type of work setting. Those employed in physician offices do tend to receive the highest pay while those in laboratories are typically paid less. Individuals who work in hospitals and outpatient facilities should expect to fall somewhere in the middle. While this information is generally true, there are several other factors that could impact the size of the telemetry technician salary as well as the appeal of the profession to certain types of individuals based on long-term career goals.
Geographical Location
Geographic location is another important factor that can significantly influence whether or not an individual will receive a competitive compensation package. Government statistics show that the states of Alaska, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, the District of Columbia, and New Jersey offer the highest average wage rates. This could be a reflection of the fact that these states have high population densities and smaller employee pools to pull from. Those who want to maximize the telemetry technician salary and who are willing to relocate may want to consider applying to positions in these states. Otherwise, it might be a good idea to explore opportunities that exist in the metropolitan areas of states that pay less.
Data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that metropolitan areas in the states of California, New Mexico, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Connecticut may offer the highest levels of compensation while those in Texas, Illinois, Georgia, Florida, Massachusetts, and Arizona offer the highest number of job opportunities. The top paying nonmetropolitan areas include South Central Kentucky, Southern Oregon, East Central Pennsylvania, Eastern Washington, and Sussex County. As with any profession, the type of employer and the geographic location can provide a general idea of an individual’s earning potential, but cannot deliver a complete picture. Additional elements to think about include credentials, experience, work schedule, and role within the organization.
Education, Training, and Experience
While the technician working in cardiac care usually does not need a college degree in order to find work, employers often expect applicants to have a high school diploma or equivalent and some prior work experience in the specialty. Those who are new to the profession are able to compete for open positions without having experience, but may need to settle for a lower initial telemetry technician salary to beat out more qualified applicants. Facilities also offer hiring preference to those who have formal certification specific to the department and have successfully passed an advanced cardiac rhythm recognition course and medical terminology courses. Administrators are willing to offer a more competitive compensation package to these individuals because they know that far less training and resources will be needed in order to orient the new employee to the position.
The proactive pursuit of formal credentials in any medical profession is viewed favorably by employers and often leads to higher earnings over time. Individuals who have provided patient care for a few years and have demonstrated interest in managerial responsibilities may have the opportunity to earn more by accepting an administrative promotion. These types of advancement opportunities are generally only offered to employees who have an exceptional work ethic and a strong commitment to high quality care. While managerial tasks do not appeal to everyone, they are an essential component of the provision of care process and can lead to a much more competitive telemetry technician salary. Those who want to take advantage of administrative promotions are encouraged to make wise career decisions and approach their work with a positive attitude and an open mind.
A career as an allied health provider within the cardiac care specialty is a great option that is expected to experience solid job growth and an expanding employment market for years to come. Those who have an interest in providing patient care, but who want to start working in the field without needing advanced education or state licensing are advised to consider this career path. An informed perspective of the different factors that can influence earnings is a great way to lay the groundwork for several years of professional work satisfaction.
