What does a cardiovascular surgeon do?
Cardiovascular surgeon responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real cardiovascular surgeon resumes:
- Experience in skeletonize harvesting of both internal thoracic arteries, and saphenous vein harvest.
- Coordinate with patients and medical staff at civilian and military treatment facilities to schedule medical appointments and retrieve medical documentation.
- Handle confidential and sensitive information with accuracy and according to HIPAA policies.
Cardiovascular surgeon skills and personality traits
We calculated that 75% of Cardiovascular Surgeons are proficient in Cardiovascular Surgery, Patient Care, and CPT. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Cardiovascular Surgeons that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Cardiovascular Surgery, 75%
Led a team of 3 cardiac surgeons and residents in cardiovascular surgery.
- Patient Care, 15%
Completed administrative functions associated with patient care.
- CPT, 4%
Work with CPT & ICD9 codes daily.
- Harvest, 3%
Experience in skeletonized harvesting of both internal thoracic arteries, and saphenous vein harvest.
- Diagnostic Tests, 2%
Conduct diagnostic tests and immunizations.
Common skills that a cardiovascular surgeon uses to do their job include "cardiovascular surgery," "patient care," and "cpt." You can find details on the most important cardiovascular surgeon responsibilities below.
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a cardiovascular surgeon to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what cardiovascular surgeons do because "physicians and surgeons need to be excellent communicators." Additionally, a cardiovascular surgeon resume shows how cardiovascular surgeons use communication skills: "strengthened knowledge of the importance of communication skills between physicians and patients"
Compassion. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling cardiovascular surgeon duties is compassion. The role rewards competence in this skill because "patients who are sick or injured may be in extreme pain or distress." According to a cardiovascular surgeon resume, here's how cardiovascular surgeons can utilize compassion in their job responsibilities: "calm and educate patients regarding procedures performed, using special care and techniques with compassion to young children. "
Detail oriented. This is an important skill for cardiovascular surgeons to perform their duties. For an example of how cardiovascular surgeon responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "patients must receive appropriate treatment and medications." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a cardiovascular surgeon: "register new patients and update existing detailed patient information including personal and financial information. ".
Physical stamina. For certain cardiovascular surgeon responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "physical stamina." The day-to-day duties of a cardiovascular surgeon rely on this skill, as "physicians and surgeons should be comfortable lifting or turning disabled patients, or performing other physical tasks." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what cardiovascular surgeons do: "provide patient education, pre-operative physicals. "
Problem-solving skills. Another crucial skill for a cardiovascular surgeon to carry out their responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." A big part of what cardiovascular surgeons relies on this skill, since "physicians and surgeons need to evaluate patients’ symptoms and administer the appropriate treatments." How this skill relates to cardiovascular surgeon duties can be seen in an example from a cardiovascular surgeon resume snippet: "solved many problems with patients accounts if any. "
The three companies that hire the most cardiovascular surgeons are:
- The Medicus Firm
8 cardiovascular surgeons jobs
- HealthTrust4 cardiovascular surgeons jobs
- CHRISTUS Health2 cardiovascular surgeons jobs
Compare different cardiovascular surgeons
Cardiovascular surgeon vs. Eye physician
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, cardiovascular surgeon responsibilities require skills like "cardiovascular surgery," "thoracic-cardiovascular," "heart surgery," and "epic." Meanwhile a typical eye physician has skills in areas such as "exam rooms," "eye drops," "patient appointments," and "patient charts." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Eye physicians tend to reach similar levels of education than cardiovascular surgeons. In fact, eye physicians are 2.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 29.5% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Cardiovascular surgeon vs. Surgeon's assistant
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that cardiovascular surgeon responsibilities requires skills like "cardiovascular surgery," "thoracic-cardiovascular," "heart surgery," and "patient care." But a surgeon's assistant might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "patients," "ortho," "emr," and "general surgery."
In general, surgeon's assistants achieve lower levels of education than cardiovascular surgeons. They're 6.6% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 29.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Cardiovascular surgeon vs. Upper extremity surgeon
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, cardiovascular surgeons are more likely to have skills like "cardiovascular surgery," "thoracic-cardiovascular," "heart surgery," and "epic." But a upper extremity surgeon is more likely to have skills like "surgical procedures," "physical therapy," "appointment scheduling," and "clinical education."
Upper extremity surgeons typically earn higher educational levels compared to cardiovascular surgeons. Specifically, they're 20.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 34.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Cardiovascular surgeon vs. Foot and ankle surgeon
Even though a few skill sets overlap between cardiovascular surgeons and foot and ankle surgeons, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a cardiovascular surgeon might have more use for skills like "cardiovascular surgery," "thoracic-cardiovascular," "heart surgery," and "epic." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of foot and ankle surgeons require skills like "private practice," "cme," "emr," and "physical therapy. "
In general, foot and ankle surgeons hold lower degree levels compared to cardiovascular surgeons. Foot and ankle surgeons are 7.5% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 7.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of cardiovascular surgeon
Updated January 8, 2025
