Cardiovascular Technology Program Receives Accreditation

The Cardiovascular Technology program at Piedmont Technical College recently received accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), becoming the only associate degree cardiovascular technology program accredited in the state.

“The accreditation is a testament to the quality of the Cardiovascular Technology program at Piedmont Technical College,” said Jerry Alewine, dean of health science.

Accreditation examines specific programs within the educational institution. The standards by which these programs are measured have generally been developed by the professionals involved in each discipline and are intended to reflect what a person needs to know and be able to do to function successfully within that profession. The self-study included curriculum, college leadership, equipment and graduate performance.

“When we were doing the self-study, we realized there were some courses out of place,” Alewine said. “We were able to make these changes to improve the quality of the education our students were receiving.”

Achieving accreditation provides the graduates with an advantage as they enter the work force. It lets employers know that the students have met the standards required to do the job.

Accreditation may also open up more clinical sites, which will allow the program to be open to more students. Student enrollment in the program is limited by the number of clinical sites available, many of which do not allow students in unless the program is accredited.

“This has been the culmination of a lot of hard work by a lot of people,” said Alewine. “I am delighted that we can bring the first fully accredited cardiovascular technology program to the state of South Carolina and our citizens.”

The Piedmont Tech program focuses on two areas of expertise: Invasive Cardiology and Noninvasive Cardiology. Invasive cardiovascular technologists work in cardiac catheterization laboratories, open heart surgical suites and cardiac research facilities. They assist the cardiologist or cardiac surgeon in performing diagnostic and interventional cardiac catheterization and angiography procedures. Noninvasive cardiovascular technologists prepare, calibrate and operate medical instrumentation utilized in the Noninvasive laboratory including recording and analyzing noninvasive cardiovascular data.

For more information on the Cardiovascular Technology program, contact Alewine at (864) 941-8536 or alewine.j@ptc.edu.