EKG Technician and How to Get an EKG Technician Job

The initials ‘EKG’ in EKG technician stand for electro cardiogram. It follows that the EKG technician is tasked with performing electrocardiograms on patients in order to monitor the condition of a person’s cardiovascular system. That said, the specific role of an EKG tech will vary from one industry and institution to another.

For instance, EKG technicians working in an emergency room may be called upon to perform additional duties that are slightly different from those of an EKG technician working in a private cardiologist’s clinic. Typically though, the core duties of a technician include preparation of the EKG room, setting up the EKG equipment, taking the electrocardiograms and then cleaning up the EKG room after each session.

Due to the central role that the cardiovascular system plays in overall health, EKG tech jobs find application in many different situations. The technician may work in hospital emergency rooms or in cardiology clinics. In hospitals, the services of technicians will be called upon for both outpatient and inpatient health care – the technician will often be required to perform electrocardiograms in order to investigate the root cause of chest pains and to detect or help preempt cardiac attacks.

EKG tech’s are not only relevant in medical institutions such as hospitals and clinics – they are found in non-medical organizations too. For instance, some employers will require an EKG report before hiring a new employee – if the organization is large and the number of staff hired is relatively high, the institution may choose to have an in house EKG specialist.

Insurance firms too may opt to employ EKG technicians that will assess the cardiac condition of all new medical policy applicants in order to pick out heart problems early enough in the policy application process.

Unlike most medical fields, EKG technicians are not required to have a degree before they can practice. A relevant certificate from medical training schools or a community college is usually enough. Often, the certificate courses will last for at least one year. On completing the course, the technician must have attained the requisite skills to perform an electrocardiogram from end to end.

If you are looking for a position, one thing you cannot afford to ignore is the need to be multi skilled. As competition for jobs increases and organizations demand maximum output from their employees, recruiters for EKG tech jobs not only look for technical competence in the electrocardiography process but also additional skills that are often required around a medical facility.

Such additional skills would include medical transcription, billing, phlebotomy, CPR and first aid. The additional skills are relied on as a tie breaker by recruiters in the event that two or more applicants are virtually dead even as far as technical EKG skills go.

An EKG technician must be comfortable working around different kinds of people. Persons holding this role will interact with patients of varying temperaments, social status and age. The tech must pay keen attention to detail to ensure that the EKG report is accurate and allows doctors to make the correct diagnosis.

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