Master of Cardiovascular Perfusion

The Master of Cardiovascular Perfusion, offered by the Monash Victorian Heart Institute, equips you with the advanced knowledge and technical skills required to demonstrate clinical competence and certification as a clinical perfusionist with the Australian and New Zealand Board of Perfusionists (ANZBP). Completion of the MCP requires concurrent employment (a minimum 24 hours/week) as a clinical perfusionist throughout the duration of the course. The course is suitable for a broad range of health professionals who are passionate about patient-centred care and motivated to pursue a rewarding and globally mobile career in clinical perfusion.  

You will become a highly skilled member of a multidisciplinary team, managing the heart-lung bypass machine during surgical procedures. Equipped with extensive knowledge of anatomy, physiology, pharmacology and surgical techniques and technologies such as extracorporeal circulation (ECMO) and Ventricular Assisted Devices (VAD), you will play a critical role in ensuring successful outcomes in cardiothoracic surgery. This course has a focus on evidence-based practice and quality use of medicine. Teaching and learning in the Master of Cardiovascular Perfusion is based on the principles of student-centred adult learning, emphasising field innovations and problem solving, analysis and integration of information, as well as further developing you as a life-long learner.

Graduates are employed in a variety of general and specialist healthcare environments and community settings where cardiac surgery and cardiopulmonary life support services are required. You will have the skills to work autonomously and collaboratively within an interprofessional team in advanced and extended clinical practice roles.

The course also enables qualified perfusionists, already working in the industry, with a pathway to advance their clinical practice by incorporating educational approaches such as scenario-based debriefing, reflective practice and critical appraisal to support you in navigating complex clinical situations in the modern and ever-changing healthcare setting. It allows you to advance your research skills with knowledge of research design and methods with application units where you will undertake a research proposal project.

Graduates from this course will be academically eligible to apply to the Australian and New Zealand College of Perfusion certification examinations and be registered as a Certified Clinical Perfusionist (CCP), under pathway A/1. Details of requirements for registration can be obtained at: www.anzcp.org