Program Description
EKG Technicians work in clinical laboratory settings, hospitals and sometimes in physicians’ offices. Their main job is to perform EKGs and sometimes assist with stress tests. They also may operate and care for testing equipment, explain test procedures and compare findings to a standard to identify problems. Hours may span day/evening/weekend depending on the facility.
Program Outcomes
Successful Completion:
CCBC Credential:
Students will have access to a Continuing Education academic record (transcript). Students will be prepared to take the national certification exam through National Healthcareers Association (cost of exam is $105).
Certifying Organization:
National Healthcareers Association
www.nhanow.com
Exam cost: $115
Financial Aid and Payment Options
- Continuing Education Opportunity Grant
- Partial Payment Option (through Nelnet Business Solutions)
- Tuition Waiver for Senior Citizens and Individuals with Disabilities
- Employer/Sponsor Paid Tuition
- Division of Rehabilitation Services (DORS)
- Local Office of Workforce Development
Program Length
25-40 weeks
Prerequisite classes begin monthly at various CCBC locations.
The EKG course series starts during the Summer, Fall, and Spring months at CCBC Essex.
Program Requirements
High School Diploma or GED. All students must be computer literate and have Internet access.
Application Process
Open Entry – No screening or documentation required.
Program Course Sequence
HIPAA Training, CPR and First Aid classes REQUIRE 100% attendance. Students arriving late to class will not be admitted. Late arrival to, or early exit from, class will also result in a failing grade and no refund. Students will then be required to retake the class at their expense.
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Course Number
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Course Title
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Course Hours
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Costs
T=Tuition/F=Fees
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Textbook Information
(approximate cost; subject to change)
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Prerequisites:
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AHE 534
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Medical Terminology for Health Occupations
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30
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$329
T-$147/F-$182
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Medical Terminology—The Language of Health Care; published by Lippincott; 1451176767; $83.15
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AHE 519
or
AHE 672
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Anatomy and Physiology
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Anatomy and Physiology Online
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30
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$329
T-$147/F-$182
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$355
T-$159/F-$196
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Body Structures & Functions; published by Delmar; 1133691749; $70.35
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AHE 805
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CPR for Health Care Providers
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7
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$109
T-$57/F-$57
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Books available in library or for purchase at the bookstore: BLS for Health Care Providers; American Heart Association; 2nd Edition; 1616690399; $15.20
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AHC 360
or
AHL 719
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HIPAA Training
or
HIPAA Training Online
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4
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$89
T-$21/F-$69
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$109
T-$21/F-$88
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Handouts online
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Prerequisites Totals:
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71
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$856 - $876
T-$367-$379
F-$489-$523
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$168.70
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Course Series:
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AHE 802
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Basic EKG Training
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20
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$425
T-$220/F-$205
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Basic Dysrhythmias: Interpretation & Management, Revised 5th Edition; Huszar; published by Elsevier
978032303974; $75.70
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AHE 803
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Intermediate EKG
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20
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$345
T-$209/F-$136
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Same as AHE 802
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AHE 804
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Advanced EKG
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20
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$345
T-$209/F-$136
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Same as AHE 802
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Course Series Totals:
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60
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$1115
T-$638/F-$477
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$75.70
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Course Series & Prerequisites Totals:
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131
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$1971 - $2017
T-$1005-$1017
F-$966-$1000
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$244.40
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Additional Information
Course Substitutions:
Medical Terminology AHE 534 can be substituted with: OFAD 141 or ALHL 115 or AHL 717
Anatomy and Physiology AHE 519 can be substituted with: AHL 672 or AHL 715 or BIOL 109 or BIOL 220 and BIOL 221
HIPAA AHC 360 can be substituted with: AHL 719 or AHC 356
Additional Expenses
National certification exam through National Healthcareers Association - cost of exam is $105.
Skills for Success
See Techncial Standards at the end of this document.
Career Opportunities:
EKG Techs are most often employed in hospitals. Employment opportunity is greater with other certifications like medical assisting and/or phlebotomy.
Technical Standards
Technical Standards for CCBC’s Electrocardiography Technician (EKG) Training Series
The primary goal of The Community College of Baltimore County’s Electrocardiography (EKG) Technician Training Series is to adequately prepare students for an entry-level position as a certified EKG technician in hospitals, physicians’ offices, clinics, and other healthcare facilities, including insurance companies.
The duties of an EKG Technician require the ability to operate and troubleshoot an EKG set-up and machine, place leads properly utilizing 12 lead EKG, use and understand the EKG grid paper, recognize and be familiar with normal and abnormal EKG patterns in all 12 leads, determine complex morphologies, rates, regularity, rhythm, intervals, segments, and notable changes, and to plot EKG axis. Emphasis is placed on safety precautions, infection prevention/control, proper patient identification, proper labeling of tracings/data, and quality assurance. Their duties also require them to be detail-oriented, accurate, precise and focused, and flexible physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Following is a partial listing of the types of skills usually required for adequate job performance:
Physical Requirements:
- Sufficient strength and mobility to:
- Move freely in the clinical area and support/move patients
- Move quickly from place to place and perform direct care
- Support and transfer patients safely from bed to stretcher, bed to wheelchair, and modify patient position in bed
- Move beds (occupied or unoccupied)
- Lift and/or carry 50 lbs. to waist level unassisted
- Move objects in excess of 100 lbs. without restriction
- Stand/sit in an upright position for approximately 6 hours a day and walk long distances
- Reach above shoulder height to manipulate equipment
- Reach below waist level to manipulate equipment
- Perform CPR and other basic life support functions
- Perform repetitive tasks and maintain a work pace appropriate to work load
- Fine motor coordination sufficient to perform precise and delicate tasks such as:
- Keen sense of touch in order to operate and manipulate EKG equipment
- Interpret tactile sensations such as texture, mobility, firmness, strength, and temperature
- Distinguish pulse rate, rhythm, and strength by palpation
- Detect changes in skin temperature and integrity
- Steady arm and hand movements while manipulating objects or assisting others
- Adequate vision to:
- Observe, monitor, and/or assess client
- Read fine print on monitors, devices, and gauges.
- Read written instructions
- Acquire information from documents such as charts, computer images, and other modes of delivery
- See and discriminate between varieties of visual equipment alarms
- Observe patient’s facial expressions, gait, appearance, posture, and other nonverbal cues
- Make visual comparisons and discriminations and see slight differences in shapes and shadings of figures, and widths and lengths of line
- Perceive pertinent detail in objects or in pictorial or graphic material
- Visualize objects of two or three dimensions
- Sufficient hearing to:
- Assess/monitor patients
- Follow verbal instructions
- Use a stethoscope to hear blood pressure and heart sounds
- Detect and discriminate between sounds of normal conversation, often under noisy conditions
- Hear sounds of a variety of equipment alarms including, but not limited to, bed/chair alarms and signaling devices (call bells)
Interpersonal Skills and Professionalism:
- Have the ability to:
- Interact in a professional manner with many personalities and attitudes and with people from many different backgrounds
- Respect and protect patient rights and confidentiality without regard to personal beliefs and judgments
- Remain calm and perform as trained during stressful situations.
- Display flexibility and adapt to changing environments
- Demonstrate compassion, integrity, and concern for others
- Recognize emergencies and be able to take the appropriate action
- Accept constructive criticism and respond appropriately by modifying behavior
- Perform self-evaluation
- Sufficient communication skills to:
- Give and receive accurate written and verbal instructions in English
- Use correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling
- Read and comprehend written material in English at a minimum of the 9th grade level
- Observe and interpret non-verbal communication
Intellectual Ability and Emotional Stability To:
- Learn, measure, calculate, reason, analyze, integrate, synthesize, and use data/information.
- Interpret, problem solve, and demonstrate critical thinking.
- Convert numerical data from one measurement system to another.
- Respond to emergencies by processing information consistently, accurately, and quickly.
- Perceive pertinent detail in objects or in pictorial or graphic material
- Comprehend forms in space and understand relationships of plane and solid objects
- Function effectively under stress.
- Perform complex tasks
- Make generalizations, evaluations or decisions without immediate supervision
Environment Requirements:
- Work indoors around moving machinery
- Work in confined spaces
- Wear appropriate safety equipment, such as gowns, caps, masks, gloves, and eye protection
- Able to tolerate unpleasant odors related to human waste, secretions, infections, etc.
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