Back to School: Tech Innovation Fuels Hiring Boom

Classmates Will Brown and Alexis Adeboyejo figured they would stay in touch after college, but not quite like this.

“Friends, yes. Colleagues at the same company, no, didn’t expect that,” Adeboyejo laughed.

Brown and Adeboyejo came to Medtronic straight out of Harding University in Arkansas, part of a wave of new recruits training for careers that until now didn’t exist at Medtronic: cardiac mapping.

“I tell my friends it’s kind of a cross between video gaming and clinical technology,” Brown laughed. “It’s challenging and interesting and we’re all very excited about it.”

Brown and Adeboyejo both earned masters’ degrees in Cardiac Function and Interventional Technology at Harding. Their next learning challenge is Medtronic mapping school, officially known as Affera Academy.

Affera Academy

Cardiac mappers are experts in the cardiac arrhythmia ablation procedure, which requires technical knowledge of the procedure, cardiac anatomy and physiology, and skill at operating the software. This procedure is used to treat abnormal rhythms (such as atrial fibrillation, or Afib) in the heart. The software maps the electrical voltage and activity of the heart and helps physicians identify areas where the electrical signals are malfunctioning. The software creates brightly colored maps of the heart’s anatomy and its electrical activity, with each color telling the mapper and physician something unique. Watching a mapper in action can be a bit like watching someone play a video game.

“Mappers absolutely need a thorough understanding of not only the software, but also how the heart works and of electrophysiology (EP), which is the study of the heart’s electrical system and treatment of disorders like Afib,” said Troy Bertram, training and education director in the Cardiac Ablation Solutions (CAS) business at Medtronic. “They’re critical advisors to the doctor in the operating room, so if the doctor has a question, the mapper better have the answer.”

Affera Academy is named after the Medtronic Affera Mapping and Ablation System™, approved for use in the United States in 2024. Demand for the new system is so high that it’s creating an urgent need for mappers to operate the software. Hospitals typically rely on the companies that develop the mapping software to provide the mappers to run it. Medtronic is planning to hire hundreds of them—with varying levels of experience—in the coming months.

“Doctors are telling us this system is one of the best things they’ve ever seen in the EP space,” said Rebecca Seidel, president of CAS, as she addressed the new recruits at Affera Academy. “You have an amazing opportunity ahead of you, to use this incredible technology to help serve patients.”

New college graduate recruits need to complete the foundational training through the Medtronic mapper school at what’s called EP University—mainly online classes where they learn about heart function, electrophysiology and the disease states that ablation can treat. They must pass a rigorous test (with a score of 90% or better) to move on to “The Bridge” where they learn how to use ablation devices and mapping systems, including the Affera system. That course is both online and in person, including classroom work and hands-on practice with simulators.

Experienced mappers in high demand

Not all students at Affera Academy are fresh from college—in fact many of the newest mappers are recruits from competitors. Veteran mappers newly hired at Medtronic recently came from Australia, Japan, France, the UK and various locations around the United States to attend in-person training in Minnesota.

“The new Medtronic technology is so efficient and that’s ultimately better for patients,” said Chelsea Polanco, who mapped for 10 years at a competitor before coming to Medtronic. “Affera is changing ablation therapy and it’s exciting to be part of it.”

Kristy Hoghton came from Perth, Australia to train on the Affera platform so she’ll be ready when the first systems arrive in her country. “Part of what I love about mapping is that you’re always learning and you’re always helping patients. With the Affera system, I’m doing both.”

Stepping out of the “shadow”

As they proceed through training, new mappers are paired with a mentor so they can shadow actual procedures. It takes an average of 25 cases under a mentor before a new recruit is certified to map on their own.

“We expect them to do more with every case,” Bertram said. “They should be constantly progressing. And it’s not just technical knowledge. We also need to see how they support and interact with the physician. That’s a huge part of being a good mapper.”

Will Brown is already shadowing cases at the Cleveland Clinic; Alexis Adeboyejo is doing the same in Seattle. “The sheer amount of knowledge that pours out of my mentor and the people I’m working with is amazing. Really, really cool,” he said.

“Initially it’s a little intimidating, working with doctors who have so much more experience than we do,” she said. “But Medtronic really prepares us, both technically and how to relate to the physicians. I’m already more comfortable.”

Both will probably map their first solo cases in 2026, if not sooner. They’ll be cheering each other on.

“Will is calm under pressure, observant and has a way of connecting with people. He’ll be a great mapper,” Adeboyejo said.

“She’s super intelligent and a great communicator,” Brown said. “She’ll be terrific.”

Interested in becoming a Medtronic mapper? Check out our careers page.

See how Medtronic's David Stalls turned his health issues into a career as a mapper.

Important Safety Information

Risks may include serious complications and injuries to cardiac and other body structures. The Sphere-9™ catheter and Affera™ mapping and ablation system, PulseSelect™ pulsed field ablation system, and Arctic Front Advance™ over-the-wire balloon catheter should only be used under the supervision of a physician that performs cardiac ablation procedures.