Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory Technologist
Posted Oct 1, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026
Likely interview questions for this role
Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.
About your past
Tell me about your cath lab experience so far. If most of your background is general radiology, what have you done to get ready for this specialty?
What they are checking: Whether they understand how different cath lab work is from general imaging and have taken real steps to close that gap.
Tell me about a time you noticed something was wrong in a procedure, like a break in sterile field or a wrong supply, and had to speak up to a physician.
What they are checking: Whether they will voice a safety concern to a senior doctor in the moment instead of staying quiet to avoid friction.
How do you explain what's about to happen to a patient who is awake, scared and lying on the cath table?
What they are checking: Whether they can calm a frightened patient in plain words, since most of these patients are only lightly sedated.
Tell me about a time you had to learn a new device or piece of equipment quickly. How did you make sure you really knew it before using it on a patient?
What they are checking: Whether they learn new tools carefully, because the cath lab keeps adding devices and guessing is not safe.
What would you do
Partway through a PCI the patient's blood pressure drops and they start to look gray. What is your role in the next few minutes?
What they are checking: Whether they know their place in an emergency and can act quickly without stepping on the nurse or physician.
This is a PRN role, and the lab also takes emergencies after hours. How do you stay sharp on equipment and procedures when you are not here every day?
What they are checking: Whether an as-needed tech can walk in cold and still be safe, especially on an urgent STEMI call.
A STEMI comes in and you are one of the first ones in the room. How do you get the room ready fast without skipping steps?
What they are checking: Whether they can move fast under time pressure while still running the checks that prevent mistakes.
About the work
Walk me through how you prepare a patient before a diagnostic heart cath, from reviewing the history to getting them on the table.
What they are checking: Whether they catch the things that change a case, like allergies, kidney function, anticoagulants and access site, before the doctor walks in.
We see a lot of structural heart cases here, like TAVR. What do you know about how those differ from a standard diagnostic or PCI case?
What they are checking: Whether they grasp that structural cases bring more people, more equipment and higher stakes, and would not be lost in the room.
You're watching the hemodynamic monitor and the pressure waveform suddenly looks damped. What goes through your head and what do you do?
What they are checking: Whether they can tell a recording or equipment problem from a real patient change, which decides how fast the team reacts.
How do you keep radiation dose down for the patient, the physician and yourself during a long case?
What they are checking: Whether radiation safety is a daily habit for them, covering collimation, distance, shielding and frame rate, not just a test answer.
After a case, how do you handle the access site and handoff to recovery so nothing is missed?
What they are checking: Whether they treat the handoff as part of patient safety, since bleeding at the access site is a common complication.
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As published by SSM Health.