About The Program

Aligned with the mission of The Texas Heart Institute, the School of Perfusion Technology promotes excellence in perfusion education, training knowledgeable, skilled, and professional clinical perfusionists.

Program Goals

• Maintain an exemplary perfusion education program supporting clinical and didactic excellence necessary to effectively develop perfusion students’ cognitive, psychomotor, and affective learning domains.
• Promote a positive educational environment for students to develop as competent, compassionate, and ethical allied health professionals.
• Foster a learning environment for program graduates to promote and maintain safe perfusion practices in providing the highest level of patient care.

Program Information

The Texas Heart Institute (THI) School of Perfusion Technology offers a post-baccalaureate certificate in perfusion technology. The 18-month course trains students to use the cardiopulmonary bypass machine and other equipment associated with open-heart surgery. In addition, students receive extensive instruction in cardiopulmonary function and extensive experience in the operating room. The Texas Heart Institute School of Perfusion is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) upon the recommendation of the Accreditation Committee for Perfusion Education (ACPE), and graduates are eligible to become a Certified Clinical Perfusionist after they take the national certification examination, which is given by the American Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion.

Perfusion Licensure

Prospective applicants for the Texas Heart School of Perfusion Technology should consult the licensing boards for states in which they may apply for licensure prior to attendance and are responsible for confirming the Texas Heart Institute program meets perfusion licensing requirements for that state.

Design of Program

Academic courses and clinical rotations are held concurrently. Lectures are taught by THI staff, clinical affiliate perfusionists, and various guest lecturers. Scheduled lectures and exams are subject to change based on the needs of the surgical schedule of the hospital. Lectures can be scheduled Monday through Friday during the morning or afternoon. Clinical responsibilities require students to be present evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays. Students are also required to take call-in week-long segments multiple times during the year.

Students spend more than 60 hours per week at the hospital between academic classes and clinical rotations. Classes and exams may begin as early as 6:00 am and a student might be at the hospital until 9 pm or longer for clinical procedures.

Tuition and Fees

Tuition is $30,000, payable in 4 installments. The first installment of $7,500 is due at the time of registration, with subsequent payments of $7,500 after three, six, and nine months have been completed. In addition, students will need approximately $40,000 – $45,000 to cover living expenses for the 18-month period. The nature of our program makes it impossible for students to have jobs while in the program.

As we are a private program and not a part of a university or college, federal financial aid is not available. This includes most student loans, grants, scholarships, funds, and any other kind of assistance that would typically be available. We would happily accept these funds, but they are only available to colleges and universities.

Texas Heart Institute is happy to partner with Meritize Financial to offer student loans that are customized based on individual student performance. Students can finance the amount of tuition only. For more information, please visit www.meritize.com

Outcomes

• The graduates from the Classes of 2015 – 2020 had 100% job placement within 6 months of graduation. (Source: AC-PE Graduation Survey)