Reading Telemetry

[KAW1962]

I work in a small hospital on a med/surg tele unit. The unit can accommodate only 10 tele patients at a time unless we borrow tele boxes from ICU. Tele has never been my strong point but I would like to learn more about reading the strips. I did attend a basic tele class offered through the hospital but to be quite honest, the instructor blazed through a lot of the material and didn't put much emphasis on reading the strips so I didn't get as much out of the class as I had hoped. I have been searching the internet for instructional videos for nurses on reading telemetry, something that I can take my time and watch repeatedly if necessary, but so far I've come up with zilch. Does anyone have any suggestions on where I might find this material?

[nursecass]

The last hospital I worked at gave all the nurses a subscription to Pearls Review online and I found a lot of their information helpful when I was designing a class for intro to rhythms. I thought it did a really great job of explaining from the ground up so to speak, and the nice part is that since they are online learning modules you can go back again if needed like you said. I'm actually thinking of getting myself a personal subscription as I study for my CCRN I liked the program so much. HTH and GL!

[Mulan]

http://www.skillstat.com/Flash/ECG_Sim_2004.html

[neuroms]

Once you get the basics down, I recommend the book "Interpreting Difficult ECG's." I can't remember who prints it, but it focuses on quick rhythm interpretation. Enjoy!

[crb613, BSN, RN]

rapid interpretation of ekg's by dale dubin is an awesome book!

[color=#0e774a]www.emergencyekg.com/[color=#767676] good luck!

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

I would also add practice, practice, practice. There are sites on the internet where you can view strips and see their interpretation.

Also, I must ask out of curiosity, if the telemetry class instructor did not place much emphasis on the interpretation of strips, what did he/she emphasize?

[nurse2033, MSN, RN]

Include "paramedic" in your searches. Medics have to be whizzes at ECG because they work alone with no backup.

[ObtundedRN, BSN, RN]

rapid interpretation of ekg's by dale dubin is an awesome book!

[color=#0e774a]www.emergencyekg.com/[color=#767676] good luck!

this is the book i recommend. it really is the best book for learning ekgs. it is very easy to read.

[I<3H2O, BSN, RN]

In the meanwhile, learn what the MAJOR "life or death" kind of rhythms are VFib, Vtach, Asystole, etc. That will give you a bit on confidence. Then, you could maybe print some strips (tearing off the names) and practice with them. Write what you think they are and then have a well versed nurse go over them and tell you what she thinks they are.

[KAW1962]

I would also add practice, practice, practice. There are sites on the internet where you can view strips and see their interpretation.

Also, I must ask out of curiosity, if the telemetry class instructor did not place much emphasis on the interpretation of strips, what did he/she emphasize?

The instructor focused mostly on anatomy and physiology of the heart, which was a great refresher, and what each individual wave of the complex signified. What I was hoping for was to go through strips, identify what rhythm it was and why. There are some rhythms I can identify so I'm not totally lost but I have a hard time with others (PACs, BBBs). She showed strips and people just blurted out what they were without really explaining how they came to that conclusion. Make sense? I understand it better when I learn WHY something is what it is.

Thanks for the suggestions. I have already started looking into them.

[KAW1962]

This is the book I recommend. It really is the best book for learning EKGs. It is very easy to read.

Great website. I ordered the book. Thanks so much for your help!

[diane227, LPN, RN]

Dubin is the gold standard. I also have an Ipod ap that helps me a lot.