Perfusionists

Employers

Roughly half of the approximately 4,400 perfusionists in the United States are directly employed by hospitals, and the other half are independent contractors or practitioners who make themselves available by contract to one or more hospitals. 

Starting Out

The most important prerequisite for entering the field of perfusion technology is acceptance at an accredited school that offers such a program. Once you have entered a program you should begin to investigate the field first through their professors and teachers and then through American Society of Extracorporeal Technology. This professional society of perfusion technologists has an active student membership division that hosts meetings and conferences and is a good source of advice and information concerning various job openings in the field. The society also offers job listings at its Web site, http://www.amsect.org/page/current-job-openings.