The Wrong Choice on the Right Path

Experience makes a difference in nearly any career. However, when it comes to patient care, experience is even more essential. When lives are on the line, your firsthand knowledge takes on a new level of importance. It was only after years of Public Health education that Stephanie Campos truly learned this hard lesson. Like so many others, upon graduation, her fears were realized— the job market is a brutal place, filled with fierce competition. 

While exploring her options, Stephanie remembered a growing area of healthcare that she heard about in college— IONM. Her research revealed that the field has reasonable requirements and stable employment rates. So, Stephanie thought this could be the answer to her search for a sustainable patient-centered career. After careful consideration, she decided to take an IONM certificate course, and soon after, she applied for jobs in the field. Stephanie would finally hold a position that satisfied her in terms of interest and income… if she were to be hired.  However, after all the time, effort, and money that this determined young woman put into her IONM career, she was left with nothing but rejection.

With all the options available, it can be extremely difficult to determine the right program or investment to propel your career. Stephanie chose the wrong one. The course that she took did not offer clinical hours in the operating room (OR), and so, she did not have the experience required for the roles she sought. While it may not have been comforting to her at the time, Stephanie was not alone. Across industries, countless others make the same mistakes every day.

For people like Stephanie, the only challenge greater than making impossible decisions is persevering in the face of rejection. Fruitless investments can be excruciatingly demoralizing, especially at times when the future is unclear. After an experience like Stephanie’s, many would have given up, but people must stay strong and take risks in order to succeed. And that’s exactly what Stephanie did.

After her first IONM course failed her, Stephanie enrolled in additional courses, only this time, she made the right decision. She chose comprehensive courses at a different institution— CEN. Rather than let go of her dreams, Stephanie received extensive clinical training in the OR from CEN. She immediately saw the value in the program, as she learned in the OR that each patient and every situation is unique. Throughout her experience, the differences between the cases she assisted with captivated her interest and enabled her to grow.

Upon completion of the program, Stephanie was immediately hired by Neuro Alert. In her first year, she earned the Rookie of the Year award. Today, she is highly regarded among her peers. And most importantly, she enjoys the sustainable career she had always desired. While every day is something new, Stephanie sees each day as another opportunity to use her experience to make a difference.

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My Patient’s Life-changing Experience

About twenty years ago, I happened upon the most rewarding experience of my career as an IONM clinician. It all began when I went to monitor a nervous 17-year-old girl’s scoliosis case at a children’s hospital in Indianapolis. Before the surgery, I visited the patient and her parents in the pre-op area. The connection was immediate. As I informed them of my role and answered all the questions they had about neuromonitoring, I realized the difference I could make before I even began to perform my job. Years later, I realized my impact was greater than I could have ever imagined.

On the morning of the surgery, I began to feel the effect that my presence could have on patients. As I spent more time than usual with the girl, relieving her every concern, we bonded. Her family was also visibly put at ease,  knowing that I would be in the operating room monitoring the functional integrity of their daughter’s spinal cord so that she woke up without injury. They later came to tell me that when they experienced my care, empathy and passion for my job, they took great comfort and knew that I would do my best to keep their daughter safe.

The surgery was long but successful. After I completed my monitoring responsibilities, I reassured the family that everything had gone well. Afterwards, I visited the girl in both the ICU and the step-down unit any time I had an opportunity. I became more than her clinician. We became friends and continued to stay in touch even after she fully recovered. At that time, she was approaching her high school graduation and had  just begun to consider the career path she would follow.

Fast forward four years. I receive a call from the same nervous girl I befriended. She had decided to pursue a career in neurodiagnostics because of the role I played in her surgery. She became the first of five women I have inspired to enter the field. Today, she is married with two children and continues to be successful in the industry.

This story is one of the many reasons why I love caring for patients. When I first met this nervous 17-year-old girl, I had no idea that I would one day grow to have such a significant impact on her life and that the experience came to shape her future.

Erica Seagrave
Regional Manager, Business Development and Education

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CEN Students’ Success Stories: From Contractor to Surgical Neurophysiologist

Even before graduation day, the clock starts ticking. You feel as though time is running out and every step you take seems overwhelmingly final when you’re first choosing your career. People need to understand: nothing is finite.Inspiring success stories like Brett Kubler’s are evidence that it’s never too late to change paths. You have your whole life ahead of you.

Brett graduated from university with a degree in Kinesiology and Exercise Science. Like so many others, Brett did not know exactly what he wished to do, but he knew that he wanted to make money and make a difference. With these ambitions in mind, Brett started out working alongside a physical therapist. However, he feared that time was against him and felt the pressure to advance that we’re all too familiar with. With the weight of the world on his shoulders, Brett made his first career shift.

Brett found and accepted a lucrative position at a contracting company, where he successfully provided project estimates. However, Brett soon worried that he helped no one, but himself. As his schedule became increasingly mundane, he grew to recognize that something was missing. All the while Brett worked in contracting, he dreamed of transitioning back to a medical field. He desperately craved work that served his genuine desire to help others, but had serious concerns about any further change and return to school. Although he knew he was not satisfied, he felt secure in his routine job. The expense of most medical programs, in money and time, was higher than he could afford.

By chance, in speaking to some acquaintances, Brett heard about an option he never before knew existed. He finally discovered a fulfilling field that actually sounded realistic and profitable. Intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring (IONM) is a rapidly growing area of healthcare that revolves around reducing patients’ risk of deficits from operations. Brett found it was a career that he could both enjoy and afford to go back to school for. It cost less than a semester studying other fields, and enabled him to learn online, in class, and in the operating room. As he required the safety of job opportunities and always felt passionate about direct patient care, IONM seemed like a perfect fit for him.

Brett’s research, of this new exciting field, led him to the CEN Introduction to IONM program, where he had the opportunity to participate in live surgeries and experience the work firsthand. Brett took a leap of faith and returned to the world of healthcare, where he found a job immediately upon CEN graduation. This life-saving field saved Brett in a way that you might not expect; it gave him the sense of purpose we all require. Now, Brett uses IONM to make a difference in patients’ lives every day as a Surgical Neurophysiologist (SNP) with Neuro Alert, and he has already won SNP of the Quarter. After Brett’s experiences, he’d recommend that anyone, who is deciding what to do with their lives, make the same choices that he ultimately made. Take the time to study a career that will support you in more than finances alone. Find fulfilling work and enjoy what you do.

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A New Way to Save Lives in Indiana

Everyone everywhere seeks a sustainable career in a meaningful field, but unfortunately, that balance is extraordinarily rare to come by. Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring (IONM) is a thriving advanced healthcare industry that revolves patient safety during surgical procedures. IONM is a miracle clinical service for both the patients it saves and the professionals to whom it brings meaning.

As Center for Electroneurodiagnostics (CEN) is the only state-licensed IONM program, the number of graduates pursuing this valuable training has proliferated since New York’s Bureau of Proprietary School Services (BPSS) licensed CEN in 2017.

Thankfully for everyone in search of a profitable, purposeful profession who wish to study in the midwest, the Indiana Office for Career and Technical Schools recently approved CEN to operate in the state of Indiana.

CEN Indiana’s multi-board certified Director and faculty know firsthand the tremendous power of IONM and make it their mission to share it with the world. Driven by the patient-first model set forth by Dr. T.V. Seshan, CEN’s founder and IONM pioneer, they have positively affected thousands of patients’ lives, but the world needs fresh IONM professionals to save thousands more.

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Wondering what to do with your Bachelor of Science? Consider a life-saving career in IONM.

If you are one of the 300,000 U.S. graduates with a science or health-related degree pondering your next steps, you’re not alone. With 125,000 applicants to PA school and with Medical School acceptance rates hovering at 40%, the growing competition and surmounting costs of advanced education are causing graduates to explore new options that dovetail their passions with a healthcare career that is accessible does not require a lengthy time commitment, and won’t break the bank.

The little-known healthcare field of Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring (IONM)— monitoring of the nervous system during spine, brain, vascular, ENT and other surgeries that put the nervous system at risk– has been in existence for over 30 years but has become the standard of care in the last 15-20.

Through the employment of various electrophysiologic tests or modalities conducted through IONM-specific hardware, software and supplies, the Surgical Neurophysiologist (the clinician who performs IONM) and a Remote Supervising Physician (a board-certified neurologist or other medical doctor certified in Clinical Neurophysiology) observe and record data from the nervous system in real-time, alerting the surgical team to any changes that might present as post-operative deficits or injuries.

With close to a million spine surgeries performed in the U.S. alone and with only a very small fraction of certified Surgical Neurophysiologists available to monitor them, the field of IONM is burgeoning with job opportunities, and the training and education require significantly less time and funding than most other medical-related fields.

If you are driven to help patients live their best possible lives and are excited by the idea of becoming a critical part of the surgical team, you owe it to yourself to explore a career in IONM.

To find out more about how you can you fast-track a career in Intraoperative neuromonitoring, email info@electroneuro.org or call 844-GOTOCEN

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The Career Path of an Intraoperative Neuromonitoring Technologist

Intraoperative Neuromonitoring offers a meaningful career. Working alongside the surgical team to make an impact on patient safety is cutting edge, in demand and lucrative, and can also be a stepping stone to other opportunities and career goals.

With first-hand experience in patient in-take and Physiology, hospital and Operating Room procedures and relationships with OR staff (surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists and medical reps), Intraoperative Neuromonitoring Technologists (aka Surgical Neurophysiologists) are utilizing their knowledge and their relationships to strategize their own success paths.

Trajectories can include promotions to senior level management positions within the IONM field, roles in recruitment of IONM technologists, positions in training and education, careers in clinical research, healthcare management and Development. And, for those whose timetable, resources and desire point them in the direction of medical school, the exposure in the OR can be a bonus on that university application.

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Five Reasons to Pursue a Career in Intraoperative Neuromonitoring

Surgical neurophysiologists use a number of tests including electroencephalogrphy (EEG), electromyography  EMG), and evoked potentials to monitor the functional integrity of the nervous system while a patient is under anesthesia. The purpose of IONM is to reduce the risk of permanent post operative injury.

If you’re considering a job in healthcare with a stable career path, consider the possibility of working as a Surgical Neurophysiologist in the field of Intraoperative neuromonitoring.

1) Valued Member of the Surgical Team

As an integral part of the surgical team, you are a first-hand witness to the team that works alongside the surgeon including Anesthesiologists, Radiologists, Perfusionists, Operating Room Nurses, Surgical Techs and Medical Device Representatives. Not only will you interact with these highly-skilled professionals, but you will become educated about the important roles each plays in ensuring successful patient outcomes.

2) Varied Knowledge

Surgical Neurophysiologists have the unique opportunity to observe and be involved in a wide scope of orthopedic spine, vascular, cardiothoracic and neurosurgical procedures.  The knowledge you will gain of current surgical techniques as well as the practical insights into the coordination and communication required in the OR, is fascinating and invaluable.

3) Workplace Flexibility

There is great variety to your workday.  As a Surgical Neurophysiologist working for an independent IONM company, your schedule offers the opportunity work at different facilities and with different team members every day.   Studies show that changing your work environment can boost mood, efficiency, productivity and even lower stress.

4) Rewarding Career Path

Intraoperative neuromomitoring is a meaningful career path.   As the voice of the patient while under anesthesia, your ability to act as an early warning system on their behalf is not only purposeful, but rewarding.

5) Growth Opportunities

Statistics shows that careers in the health sector are on the rise and, with an ever-increasing amount of surgeries being performed using IONM as a tool, you will be part of a rapidly evolving field with limitless opportunities for growth and advancement.

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