Practical EMS
My mission is to use the stories we all have in emergency medicine to encourage and uplift you where you are. EMT, Paramedic, nurse, PA, NP or physician. Emergency medicine is a very difficult specialty with unique challenges, and it calls us all to be better than the average person in order to stay healthy for our patients, our families and own mental wellness. I want to connect with EMS crews, fire crews, ER RN's, ER techs and new ER advanced practice providers to better understand their current struggles. I also want to bridge the gap between prehospital medicine and the emergency department and to encourage those seeking to become an advanced practice provider. Disclaimer: All Practical EMS content is opinion only. It is unaffiliated with any company or organization and does not represent any company or organization that Aaron currently works for or has worked for in the past. No content should be taken as medical advice.
Practical EMS
115 | EKG tech and scribe role in the ED | Communication and teamwork
Welcome to the show Sean and Cheyenne, EKG tech experience and scribe experience
Sean talks about certifications and expectations that go beyond merely obtaining an EKG as well as the stress testing role
Cheyenne talks about the role that scribes play in the ED
Scribing for providers is often used as a role to gain patient experience for medical school or PA school
They talk about how they got into scribing and EKG technician work and Sean talks about how it is also a role that is used as a steppingstone
12 leads are complicated to interpret and require a lot of training and experience to get good at. They are even harder to interpret when the patient is not in front of you
STEMI’s are the key EKG’s to recognize because they are so time sensitive, but we don’t see these frequently – it can be very helpful when the tech recognizes this and can recognize the urgency
Knowing early signs of impending problems on the 12 lead can be helpful for patient prioritization as well
Being an EKG tech requires good resource utilization, sometimes there are not a ton of EKG techs available in the hospital, so they need to prioritize – communication is key
Communication between roles is so important when we are trying to get quickly get imaging, labs, assessments and EKG simultaneously
At the end of the day, the patient is the top priority
Scribes do deal with a lot of stress, they must finish notes, write new notes and keep up with high volume, they like active communication with the provider
Sean talks about how a typical day can vary quite a bit
Full show notes can be found here: Episodes - Practical EMS - Content for EMTs, PAs, Paramedics
Most efficient online EKG course here: Practical EKG Interpretation - Practical EMS earn 4 CME and learn the fundamentals through advanced EKG interpretation in under 4 hours.
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Everything you hear today from myself and my guests is opinion only and doesn’t represent any organizations or companies that any of us are affiliated with. The stories you hear have been modified to protect patient privacy and any resemblance to real individuals is coincidental. This is for educational and entertainment purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice nor used to diagnose any medical or healthcare conditions.