DescriptionJob Summary The Manager Cardiac Diagnostic Services is responsible for the leadership, daily operations, and clinical quality of the Heart Station, which provides comprehensive non-invasive cardiac diagnostic services for pediatric and adult congenital heart patients. Oversees echocardiography, electrocardiography (ECG/EKG), stress testing, Holter/event monitoring, and related diagnostic modalities and ensuring high-quality imaging and testing across the lifespan. The leader will partner closely with pediatric cardiology, adult congenital cardiology (ACHD), cardiac surgery, and multidisciplinary teams to support a growing congenital heart program. Ensures adherence to congenital imaging standards, maintains accreditation readiness, and leads quality improvement initiatives that enhance patient care, workflow efficiency, and staff development.
Job Specific Duties - Responsible for researching the newest technology and equipment within the market and participates in the selection of equipment and supplies for the Heart Station, in collaboration with the Echo MD's.
- Oversee delivery of all Cardiac Diagnostic Imaging services to fetal, pediatric, adult congenital and neonate patients.
- Creates departmental schedule and supervises on-call rotations.
- Collects research data for physicians in collaboration with the Research department.
- Assists the leader in creating, editing, and updating policies and procedures for the Heart Station team.
- Identifies and corrects minor equipment malfunctions and software issues and refers major technical malfunctions to the appropriate team (i.e. biomedical engineering or IT services).
- Responsible for providing proper coverage for the clinics & ensures appropriate number of staff are scheduled. Accountable for providing the proper equipment & IT infrastructure to conduct on invasive cardiac diagnostic test.
- Institutes new procedures and keeps abreast of new procedures and theories.
- Summons qualified personnel immediately if an emergency situation develops or if a patient is in apparent distress.
- Orients, trains, and evaluates technologists regarding the policies and procedures of the department.
- Assists the Director in preparing the annual departmental capital and operational budget requests for machines needed in the heart station and selects equipment.
- Accountable for the recruiting, selection, and evaluation of technical staff.
- Communicates effectively with interdisciplinary teams; shares information within timelines to aid top outcomes for patients and families.
- Evaluates staff competencies including peer to peer observation. Assures completion of QA on images, conclusive diagnostics, and study accuracy in preparation for presentation to the physician.
- Prepares monthly reports regarding volume, complexity of cases, number of sedations, average time of case and completeness of studies for the Heart Station leadership team.
- Selects, trains, coaches, and evaluates assigned staff, provides input to the performance improvement plan to maximize quality and safety.
- Participate in quality improvement initiatives to continually improve departmental performance.
- Identifies development opportunities or training needs of individual employees and teams. Provides coaching, feedback, and training to improve performance.
- Promote a culture of excellence by establishing expectations and maintaining consistency through accountability.
- Directs and supervises staff in the Heart Station. Ensures a fair delegation of workload. Responsible for charge reconciliation, daily Kronos upkeep, and departmental productivity.
- Collaborates with administrative team and physicians to enhance existing services or develop new service offerings.
Qualifications Minimum Job Requirements - Completion of a 2-4 year diagnostic ultrasound program from an accredited institution
- ARDM/RDCS or CCI (registered Cardiac Sonographer) - maintain active and in good standing throughout employment
- American Heart Association BLS - maintain active and in good standing throughout employment
- 3-5 years of healthcare service line experience in cardiology, cardiac imaging, or pediatric cardiac programs
- 3-5 years of healthcare operations experience
- 3-5 years of management experience Cardiac Diagnostic Services
- 7-10 years of experience in echocardiography, with a strong clinical background
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities - Prior clinical experience in cardiac imaging (echo preferred; congenital experience strongly preferred).
- Experience in a pediatric hospital or congenital heart institute preferred.
- Experience with accreditation preparation preferred.
- Experience with budget development and capital equipment planning preferred.
- Knowledge of budgeting and capital budgeting process preferred.
- Experience with vendor management and top-notch negotiation skills preferred.
- Experience supporting pediatric or congenital echo labs.
- Familiarity with advanced congenital echo modalities ( i.e. strain imaging, 3D echo, fetal echo, post-operative congenital assessments).
- Experience coordinating with congenital cardiologists and surgeons.
- Experience leading multidisciplinary teams (sonographers, EKG techs, stress lab staff, and schedulers).
- Experience with data-driven performance improvement. (Throughput, wait times, quality metrics, and budget management).
- Experience troubleshooting imaging equipment and software (PACS, echo machines, stress systems, ECG management platforms).
- Ability to troubleshoot imaging equipment and software programs.
- Ability to relate cooperatively and constructively with patients, families, peers, physicians, and other Health System personnel.
- Excellent communication skills and experience in working within a multidisciplinary team to optimize the patient and family experience.
- A superior degree of professionalism, diplomacy, and capacity to build consensus.
- Ability to collect, analyze, and apply data and other pertinent information to develop short- and long-term goals and budget.
- Able to effectively monitor and develop the abilities of subordinates.
- Strong leadership skills with the ability to motivate, develop team members, and collaborate with physicians.
- Able to maintain confidentiality of sensitive information.
- Understanding of accreditation pathways such as IAC Echo (adult + pediatric), and congenital quality metrics.
- Ability to remain calm under stressful situations.
