New Telemetry nurse needs advice...

[parrot07]

Hello,

I am a new nurse on a Telemetry floor. Just trying to get used to the beeping, and wires, etc. I am shaky with the rhytmns and obviously this is a huge part of the job. Does anyone have any book suggestions, or studyguides to help me better understand ekg monitoring and the different rhythms?

Thanks!

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

the ekg weblinks for the nursing students (chosen because they present the basics) are posted here:

• https://allnurses.com/forums/3129194-post40.html

and for the ccu nurses they are posted on this thread:

• https://allnurses.com/forums/f15/helpful-information-ccu-other-critical-care-units-140706.html - helpful information for the ccu and other critical care units

[suzy253, RN]

Also remember to check the patient. Often times the tele boards will say someone is asystole....need to check the patient. Often they're talking on the phone, A&O.

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

Don't tell a doctor that a patient is having FLBs (funny little beats).

We told a new nurse a patient was having FLBs and she didn't get the joke. She called the doctor before anyone could stop her and told him the patient was having FLBs and what did he want her to do for it. He wanted to know what she was talking about and when we heard her saying, " FLBs, FLBs!", we ran over to look at the monitors to see what was going on. In our defense, she was kind of an airhead in the first place and was supposed to have discussed the EKG strips she had before calling the doctor, especially since this was the middle of the night.

[Medic09, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

Some of this may help. Play around. The only way to start getting good at it is lots of practice. Also, if (like me) you are not a very visully oriented person, it takes a little longer.

http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/EKG/ekgwebsites.html

My wife recently taught some of her staff basic EKG from one of my books - Understanding 12-lead EKGs (Brady Publishing). I know you're mostly concerned with monitors and limited leads, but the concepts are all connected.

[highlandlass1592, BSN, RN]

If you ask any cardiologist what a rhythm is, they will all go through the same questions.

"What is the rate?" "Is it regular or irregular?" "Is there a P wave for every QRS complex?"

After you determine that, then you can get fancy and ask: "Wide or narrow QRS?" "What is the PR Interval?" "What is the QT interval?"

You'll see a lot of neat stuff. Always remember: Treat the patient, not the monitor. Joe Smith might be in his room alert and talking and the monitor may look like V-Tach.

Take advantage of your orientation, take whatever classes your facility offers you regarding EKGs. Get ACLS =)

When I read your post I had to have a chuckle. Brings back memories of working in cardiology...we never had two cardiologists agree on a rhythm or EKG to save my life. Many times they would stand there and argue over some fine point ( I have to tell you they were frequently from competing practices so it was always interesting). Just brought back that memory.