From Arkansas to New Zealand: A Cath Lab Career Abroad
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Jason Money, RN, RCIS,1 talks with CLD Managing Editor Rebecca Kapur
1Clinical Nurse Manager, Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory
Tauranga Hospital, Bay of Plenty DHB, New Zealand
Jason Money, RN, RCIS, can be contacted at oneworld99@yahoo.com
What does it take to run a cath lab outside the U.S.? In this episode of Cath Lab Conversations, Jason Money, RN, RCIS, draws on more than two decades in New Zealand’s public health system to explain how his program operates day to day. He describes working in a two-lab service that supports a busy angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) schedule, while also expanding electrophysiology capabilities in a non-tertiary setting. Along the way, he breaks down how New Zealand’s hub-and-spoke model is changing to meet demand, and what that shift means for access, staffing, and workflow.
Money also explains how teams are structured in a more regulated environment, where scope-of-practice rules are clear and staffing is designed to be efficient. He shares how New Zealand became an early adopter of radial access, and why his lab relies almost exclusively on basilic access for right heart catheterization. He also discusses the role of national registries and key performance indicator (KPI) tracking in standardizing care and measuring performance across sites.
The conversation describes the broader system of healthcare in New Zealand. Money explains how centralized purchasing affects device costs in the cath lab, why industry involvement can look different than it does in the U.S., and how regional strategies like “treat-and-return” programs can expand access by moving patients through the cath lab and safely back to their local hospitals the same day.
Money also notes that New Zealand is actively looking for cath lab professionals, creating real opportunities for people considering work abroad.
For cath lab leaders, physicians, nurses, and technologists, this episode offers practical perspective on shared challenges including access, staffing shortages, cost pressure, and quality, through the lens of a coordinated national system.
Articles by Jason Money in Cath Lab Digest
Money J. So you want to be a medical mercenary? Cath Lab Digest. 2004 Mar;12(3). https://www.hmpgloballearningnetwork.com/site/cathlab/articles/so-you-want-be-a-medical-mercenary
Money J. New Zealand and US cath labs: What does socialized interventional cardiology look like? Cath Lab Digest (Blog). February 2, 2010. https://www.hmpgloballearningnetwork.com/site/cathlab/blog/new-zealand-and-us-cath-labs-what-does-socialized-interventional-cardiology-look
Money J, Ruppert A. Cath lab professionals review: Cath lab essentials with Dr. Morton Kern (educational video series). Cath Lab Digest. 2011;19(7). https://www.hmpgloballearningnetwork.com/site/cathlab/articles/cath-lab-professionals-review-cath-lab-essentials-dr-morton-kern-educational-video-series
Money J. A review of the STAR Board radial arm board. Cath Lab Digest. 2013;21(7). https://www.hmpgloballearningnetwork.com/site/cathlab/articles/review-star-board-radial-arm-board
For More Information
About Health New Zealand Health New Zealand website (Government Health Agency)
CSANZ Home Cardiac Society of Australia New Zealand
Health New Zealand Careers in the public healthcare system
Visit the Bay of Plenty | Official Tourism & Travel Guide
Welcome to New Zealand | Official site for Tourism New Zealand
