The Journal of ExtraCorporeal Technology No 56-4 | Page 50

188 A . K . Blakey : J Extra Corpor Technol 2024 , 56 , 185 – 190

Table 1 . Levels , points , and experience required .

Table 2 . Professional advancement model categories , activities , and points .

McComiskey et al . list journal club participation and assisting quality improvement initiatives as activities [ 4 , 10 , 15 ]. Scholarly works such as book chapter publications and article publications are included in other PAMs [ 4 , 15 ]. Conference attendance and research study participation are found in other PAMs and included in the clinical excellence category [ 4 , 10 , 15 ]. Lastly , other activities with approval are also included .

Education . Six activities are included within the education category . Boyd et al . and Warman et al . include interdisciplinary and department-specific lectures as educational activities worth points [ 10 , 15 ]. Poster and podium presentations at conferences are also supported by other PAMs [ 4 , 10 ]. In addition to including a Doctorate / PhD degree advancement activity , the perfusionist PAM includes a degree advancement to a master ’ s degree [ 4 ]. The importance of including a Master ’ s degree advancement option is not to exclude a large portion of perfusionists who would seek to advance their degree . For example , a recent survey of female perfusionists found that most females have either a bachelor ’ s or certificate degree [ 18 ]. Lastly , additional activities are also included with the proper approval .

Service . Seven activities are included within the service category . The work by McComiskey et al . supports assisting new staff with orientation and holding a clinical or adjunct faculty appointment [ 4 ]. Boyd et al . and Warman et al . support including being a clinical instructor and providing community volunteer work [ 10 , 15 ]. Being a simulation facilitator and a manuscript peer reviewer were also included [ 4 , 10 ]. Being a student clinical coordinator for perfusionist students is also included , as well as other activities that may be outside the list .

Follow-up metrics

Promotion ideally should be challenging but ultimately still attainable . For example , research by McComiskey et al . showed that over ten years , a PAM for APPs had a promotion rate of 75 % [ 19 ]. Upon surveying the clinicians who had applied to the program , 52 % agreed that the promotion was difficult to attain , while 62 % agreed that the content needed to be promoted was fair [ 19 ]. Likewise , Arthur et al . demonstrated an overall program completion rate for all levels of 47 %, 55 %, and 51 % for years one , two , and three , respectively [ 13 ].

Salary increases should accompany the promotion , ranging from 5 % to 30 % for other healthcare fields , depending on the promotion level [ 4 , 13 , 15 ]. Based on the difficulty of obtaining each promotion level , it is reasonable to have 5 %, 10 %, and 15 % for Perfusionist II , III , and IV , respectively .

Limitations

A notable limitation of the literature review is that there is no evidence of a PAM specifically for perfusionists . While this limitation concerns generalizability , it also presents an opportunity to learn from other healthcare fields that have implemented PAMs in their workplaces . The type of institution that implements a PAM may also be a limitation . For example , much of the literature focuses on academic medical centers in the United States [ 4 , 6 , 10 , 13 , 14 ]. The results of this review may not be generalizable to perfusionists employed by such entities as private institutions or physician groups or to perfusionists residing in countries other than the United States .

The point system criteria and salary increases are based on published literature findings but are unlikely to be universal among all perfusionist programs looking to implement a PAM . Each health system is unique , and the financials of different programs and the emphasis on different categories of points will also likely differ as assigning point values is difficult . Warman et al . wrote , “ The actual task of assigning points in the categories was more challenging than originally thought ” [ 10 ]. Furthermore , Slagle et al . performed a literature review looking at nursing clinical ladders and emphasized the heterogeneity in the literature regarding the framework development of such programs [ 20 ]. Lastly , another limitation is that this perfusionist PAM was a conceptual development and stopped short of the implementation process .