Latest News

11 / 04 / 2011
VA Licensure
VA Licensure update

07 / 10 / 2011
VA Licensure
VA Licensing info posted

05 / 25 / 2011
Maryland Licensing Bill
Bill passes and becomes law

Virginia Perfusion Licensure Update

We have received a letter of support from the Presidents of the State Perfusion Societies surrounding us that have licensure (MD, DC, NC). Having the support of our closest peers will be helpful as we continue down the path towards licensure. Have a look!

• A letter of intent was sent to the presidents of the Medical Society of Virginia, Virginia Surgical Society, and Virginia Nurses Association. The purpose of these letters is to make them aware of our move towards becoming licensed professionals.
• One of the first steps in having a bill passed is finding a member of the Virginia legislation to support our bill. This will occur after the November elections are finished.
• We have also asked the Virginia Department of Health Professions to initiate a study to assess (confirm really) the need for licensure of perfusionists in Virginia. This is called a Sunrise Proposal and will be posted here once it has been officially submitted.
• Finally, please see the following brief which states our scope of practice and the specific areas / procedures we would want to have included in our licensing plan.

Finally, please see the following brief which states our scope of practice and the specific areas / procedures we would want to have included in our licensing plan. It also has a list of all the heart centers in Virginia Download here.

Beginning the process of becoming licensed

To begin the process of seeking licensure in Virginia, the Virginia Perfusion Society will be working closely with Lee Bechtel of Bechtel & Associates. Lee is also AmSECT's Director of Government Relations (it is not a requirement to be a member of AmSECT to become licensed or work with Lee). Lee will act on behalf on the perfusionists of Virginia in working with legislators towards presenting a bill to be sponsored, presented, and passed.

Lee has prepared some PDFs that he would like to share with the perfusionists of Virginia. Much of this information is summarized in the post below, but these documents do provide a much deeper look at licensure, the process, and its benefits for perfusionists.

• Lee Bechtel and Mike Troike, LP, CCP have prepared a paper discussing The Licensing Role in Perfusion Responsibilities.
• Amsect has prepared a very thorough PDF regarding the Legal Credentialing of Perfusionists. It includes a discussion of what licensing really means for perfusionists, how it relates to our clinical activities, and also contains some very helpful charts regarding licensure.
• Licensed perfusionists are required to pay a licensing fee annually. The average fee for licensed perfusionists in the U.S. is $100. It is impossible to determine what Virginia's fee will be until a fiscal analysis is completed. A list of licensing fees by state can be viewed in the Licensing Fees by State document.

Anyone who wishes to volunteer to assist in the licensure process may contact Lee if you have not already. We would also ask that any Virginia perfusionist opposed to licensure would contact us as well. Please see the contact page for his information.

You can also download all of the PDFs in one zip file.

Why should perfusionists in Virginia seek to become licensed?

Although there are only ~90 perfusionists in Virginia, we are responsible for more than 8,000 CPB procedures a year, plus VADs, ECMO, cell saving and other ancillary procedures. There are several issues regarding our roles in the OR that becoming licensed will remedy including:

• Perfusionists adminster drugs, blood, anesthetic agents in the OR without clear state granted authority to do so. Licensing would correct this.
• The Virginia RT licensing law includes of mention of ECMO, and so therefore an unlicensed perfusionist sitting ECMO with a licensed RT could be seen as a perfusionist performing licensed medical functions without the license to do so (licensing would also correct this).
• A state recognized scope of practice would help prevent tasks and duties that we feel are our responsibility from being reassigned to non perfusionists. The big example here is ECMO. As long as we remain unlicensed we have no leverage with hospital administrators over who should be involved in the day to day oversight of ECMO and other similar ancillary procedures.
• Licensing would also provide leverage as new medical devices (such as VADs) are marketed.
• Licensing establishes minimum state recognized professional standards for education and training, and professional certification.

You may also wish to read a paper that discusses the Pro and Cons of Licensure at length.

If you are a perfusionist in Virginia, please look for more information regarding licensure to be e-mailed to you in the coming days.

Licensure of Perfusionists in Virginia

As you may have heard, the Maryland Perfusion Society successfully passed their licensure bill signed into law and so perfusionists in Maryland will now be licensed. With Maryland passing their bill, 53% of perfusionists in the United States are now licensed.

Perfusionists in Virginia are not licensed. One of the main goals of the Virginia Perfusion Society is to pursue licensure in the state of Virginia.

May 2011 - Reformation of VA Perfusion Society

We would like to reform the VA Perfusion Society. Please look for more information in the coming weeks.