Dont know exactly what med/tele means?? HELP!

[onfire4gzuz]

Hey allnurses, I just passed my lpn boards, and I have been job searching, I saw a opening in med/tele, but I kinda dont know the job description. I know this job is in med surg, but will I be specializing with cardiac patients? Will I be trained to use ekg's, please help me out guys, would help if you guys could tell me what kind of patients I would be responsible for and the whole job description of a med/tele nurse. THANKS in advance allnurses!!

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

There are many types of telemetry units (that's the "tele"). A medical/telemetry unit will probably have a large portion of older/geriatric-type patients with multi-system illnesses. In my experience - with multiple organizations - med/tele units usually have the highest turnover. They are very challenging; fast paced with lots of physical labor involved because of the age & frailty of the patients. There is also a wide area of required knowledge involving just about every body system and this can be intimidating.

Telemetry patients have portable wireless units that transmit to a central location where a telemetry tech sits in front of a bank of monitors watching all the EKG readouts from these patients. The tech will notify your RN & you if one of your patients is having a problem. You will be expected to respond appropriately.

The required competencies for tele units vary, depending on the staffing model, and available resources. But at the very least, you will probably be provided with basic EKG 'awareness' & training on emergency cardiac protocols. You should ask about training and competency expectations when you interview for the job.

Best of luck on your job search.