TL;DR
- A cardiologist diagnoses, treats, manages and prevents diseases of the cardiovascular system. O*NET's definition adds that they “may further subspecialize in interventional procedures (e.g., balloon angioplasty and stent placement), echocardiography, or electrophysiology”, and its tasks run from administering emergency cardiac care for cardiac arrest and heart attack, through conducting electrocardiograms, echocardiograms and exercise tests and diagnosing using cardiac catheterisation, to designing and explaining treatment plans, monitoring patients and reevaluating treatment, and advising on diet, activity and prevention.
- The duties group into seven: outpatient assessment and diagnosis; investigations; procedures and intervention; inpatient and emergency care; treatment plans, prescribing and prevention; records, governance and audit; and teaching, supervision and research. Which of them fill the week depends entirely on the subspecialty, which is why a cardiology advert that does not name one is describing several different jobs at once.
- In the UK the route runs through a five-year medicine degree recognised by the General Medical Council, a two-year foundation programme and, as the National Careers Service puts it, specialist training taking between five and eight years, with registration and enhanced background checks. An advert should say the grade, the subspecialty, the job plan, the on-call rota and the supporting time for audit, teaching and appraisal, because those decide whether a cardiologist applies and whether they stay.
Two cardiology adverts can describe entirely different weeks. One is mostly catheter lab: angiography lists, stents, a rota that brings people in at three in the morning for a heart attack. The other is mostly clinic and echocardiography, with a heart failure service and a teaching commitment. Both are asking for a cardiologist. The job description of a cardiologist has to say which, because the subspecialty decides the working life more than the title does.
This article sets out what a cardiologist does, using the US O*NET occupational database, the UK National Careers Service and the Prospects careers service. It gives seven duty groups, the subspecialties, the grades an advert might be for, the route into the role, what a consultant job description should contain including the job plan, and how appraisal works alongside it. It is general information for people writing or reading job descriptions, not clinical guidance.
Consultants and trainees are appraised on evidence gathered across a whole year, and it should be easy to find when the meeting comes. See how New Dynamics performance reviews keep goals, feedback and development in one place on your own form.
What does a cardiologist do?
O*NET defines the occupation as diagnosing, treating, managing and preventing “diseases or conditions of the cardiovascular system”, and notes that a cardiologist “may further subspecialize in interventional procedures (e.g., balloon angioplasty and stent placement), echocardiography, or electrophysiology”. It places the occupation in Job Zone five: extensive preparation, most requiring graduate school.
Its tasks describe the day. Among them: “administer emergency cardiac care for life-threatening heart problems, such as cardiac arrest and heart attack”; “conduct electrocardiogram (EKG), phonocardiogram, echocardiogram, or other cardiovascular tests to record patients' cardiac activity”; “conduct exercise electrocardiogram tests to monitor cardiovascular activity under stress”; “diagnose cardiovascular conditions, using cardiac catheterization”; “operate diagnostic imaging equipment to produce contrast-enhanced radiographs of heart and cardiovascular system”; “design and explain treatment plans, based on patient information such as medical history, reports, and examination results”; “monitor patients' conditions and progress, and reevaluate treatments, as necessary”; “explain procedures and discuss test results or prescribed treatments with patients”; “advise patients and community members concerning diet, activity, hygiene, or disease prevention”; and “conduct research to develop or test medications, treatments, or procedures”.
Cardiologist duties: seven responsibilities
Grouped from those tasks and from the Prospects hospital doctor profile, which describes the shape of consultant work across specialties.
- Outpatient assessment and diagnosis. See referred patients in clinic; take the history, examine, and diagnose using records, reports, test results and examination findings; decide what to investigate and what to reassure.
- Investigations. Request, perform and interpret cardiovascular tests: electrocardiograms, echocardiograms, exercise testing, ambulatory monitoring and imaging; compare measurements against standards to identify abnormalities; report the findings so that others can act on them.
- Procedures and intervention. Depending on subspecialty: diagnostic catheterisation and angiography, angioplasty and stenting, device implantation and electrophysiological studies and ablation, with the consent conversations that precede them.
- Inpatient and emergency care. Ward rounds and review of admitted patients; emergency cardiac care for cardiac arrest, heart attack and arrhythmia; advice to colleagues across the hospital; participation in the on-call rota.
- Treatment plans, prescribing and prevention. Design, explain and review treatment plans; prescribe and adjust medicines; monitor progress and reevaluate; advise on diet, activity and risk factors, which is where cardiology does most of its long-term good.
- Records, communication and governance. Keep accurate, confidential records; write to patients' GPs; communicate clearly with patients, families and carers; take part in clinical governance, audit and quality improvement, which Prospects lists among every hospital doctor's responsibilities.
- Teaching, supervision and research. Teach, supervise and assess resident doctors and medical students; contribute to service planning and leadership at senior level; conduct or support research, which O*NET lists as a task of the occupation.
The subspecialties, and why the advert must name one
O*NET names three subspecialty directions, and UK practice recognises more. In broad terms:
- Interventional cardiology. The catheter lab: angiography, angioplasty and stenting, structural procedures. Procedure-heavy, rota-heavy, with a primary angioplasty service in many centres.
- Echocardiography and cardiac imaging. Reporting and performing echocardiograms, and in some posts cardiac magnetic resonance and computed tomography. Clinic and reporting sessions dominate.
- Electrophysiology and devices. Rhythm disorders: electrophysiological studies, ablation, pacemakers and implantable defibrillators, device clinics.
- Heart failure, inherited conditions, adult congenital and community cardiology. Longitudinal clinics, multidisciplinary teams and close work with specialist nurses.
A candidate chooses a post on the subspecialty, the case mix and the equipment available. An advert that says only "cardiologist" makes every reader do the work of guessing.
Which grade is the advert for?
Prospects sets out the grades in UK hospital medicine, and an advert should name the one it means: doctors in foundation training; doctors in specialist training; specialty doctors; specialist grade doctors; and consultants. The word cardiologist in a job title usually means a consultant or a specialty or specialist grade doctor in cardiology, and the responsibilities, supervision and autonomy differ sharply between them. State the grade, who the post reports to, and what supervision or support a less senior post will have.
The route into the role
The National Careers Service sets out the UK route for a hospital doctor: a five-year degree in medicine recognised by the General Medical Council; a two-year foundation programme of general training; and “specialist training which can take between 5 to 8 years depending on the speciality”. A four-year graduate entry route exists for those who already hold a science-based degree, and competition for places is strong. Enhanced background checks are required. Practising in the UK requires registration with the General Medical Council and a licence to practise, and consultant posts require entry to the specialist register; check the current requirements with the regulator rather than relying on a summary.
With experience, the National Careers Service lists specialising further, senior and consultant roles, leading a team or managing a department, private practice, work as a medical officer in the armed forces, teaching, and clinical research. Prospects adds that at senior levels the work includes leadership, service planning and research.
What a cardiologist job description should contain
For an employer, the parts candidates read first are rarely the clinical duties, which they can predict, but the shape of the working life, which they cannot.
Job title: Consultant Cardiologist (state the subspecialty: interventional, imaging, electrophysiology and devices, heart failure) or Specialty Doctor in Cardiology
Reports to: Clinical Director or Clinical Lead for Cardiology; professionally accountable to the regulator
The service: the size and case mix of the department, the catheter labs, imaging and device facilities, the specialist nurses and the multidisciplinary teams, the network arrangements with other centres.
The job plan: the number of programmed activities and how they are divided between direct clinical care and supporting professional activities; the clinics, lab lists, ward and reporting sessions in a typical week; how the plan is reviewed and by whom. A job plan that exists only in principle is the most common cause of a short consultant tenure.
The on-call rota: its frequency, whether it is resident or non-resident, what it covers, including any primary angioplasty commitment, and the compensatory arrangements.
Responsibilities: clinic and inpatient care; investigations and reporting; procedures within the post's scope; participation in the emergency rota; treatment planning and prescribing; records and correspondence; clinical governance, audit and quality improvement; teaching and supervision of trainees; contribution to service development and research.
Person specification: registration with a licence to practise and, for consultant posts, entry to the specialist register or eligibility within a stated period; subspecialty training and evidence of competence in the named procedures; audit and teaching experience; the checks required.
Support and development: study leave and budget, mentoring for newly appointed consultants, the appraisal process, and time in the job plan for it.
Appraisal, audit and revalidation
Doctors are appraised annually on evidence collected through the year: audits, quality improvement work, teaching, feedback from colleagues and patients, significant events and continuing professional development. That evidence supports revalidation with the regulator. The practical implication for an employer is simple: give the appraisal a place in the job plan, make the evidence easy to collect as the year goes on rather than the week before, and treat the meeting as a conversation about the work rather than a form.
Frequently asked questions
What does a cardiologist do?
Diagnoses, treats, manages and prevents diseases of the cardiovascular system: assessing patients in clinic, requesting and interpreting tests such as electrocardiograms and echocardiograms, performing procedures such as catheterisation and, by subspecialty, angioplasty, ablation or device implantation, providing emergency cardiac care, designing and reviewing treatment plans, advising on prevention, keeping records and teaching trainees. The US occupational database lists 25 tasks for the occupation.
What are the duties of a cardiologist?
Seven groups: outpatient assessment and diagnosis; investigations; procedures and intervention; inpatient and emergency care; treatment plans, prescribing and prevention; records, communication and clinical governance; and teaching, supervision and research. Which dominate depends on the subspecialty of the post.
What subspecialties are there in cardiology?
The US occupational database names interventional procedures such as balloon angioplasty and stent placement, echocardiography, and electrophysiology. UK practice also recognises cardiac imaging, devices, heart failure, inherited cardiac conditions, adult congenital heart disease and community cardiology. An advert should name the subspecialty it is recruiting for.
How long does it take to become a cardiologist in the UK?
The National Careers Service describes a five-year medicine degree recognised by the General Medical Council, a two-year foundation programme, and specialist training taking between five and eight years depending on the specialty, with a four-year graduate entry route available to those with a relevant first degree. Registration with a licence to practise is required, and consultant posts require entry to the specialist register.
What should a cardiology job advert include?
The grade, the subspecialty and case mix, the facilities, the job plan with its split between clinical and supporting activities, the on-call rota and what it covers, the teaching and audit expectations, the registration and checks required, and the development support offered. Those are the parts a candidate cannot guess.
Your next step: describe the week, not just the specialty
- Name the grade and the subspecialty in the job title.
- Set out the job plan session by session and say how it will be reviewed.
- State the on-call rota, its frequency and what it covers.
- Put appraisal, audit and teaching time in the plan before the post is advertised.
For a way to gather evidence on competencies through the year rather than the week before an appraisal, read and download our competency feedback guide. The guide is free to read, and the PDF uses our short download form.
Want appraisal evidence, objectives and development for clinical staff in one place, on your own form? Book a New Dynamics demo and bring your current appraisal template. You can also email contact@new-dynamics.com.
