Marcia Gamaly – Essential Rhythm Interpretation Skills for Nurses

Essential Rhythm Interpretation Skills for Nurses – Marcia Gamaly

• Take away 8 essential steps to accurate rhythm interpretation
• Learn how to interpret rhythms with a live Nurse
• Educator – NOT an online module
• Update your knowledge on the treatments and interventions for common & uncommon rhythms
• So . . . you have taken a rhythm class but STILL struggle with interpretation?
• Take charge of your practice! Don’t rely on a monitor technician to read your rhythms

Your patient has just arrived onto the unit, and you are placing them on the remote telemetry pack. The telemetry monitor at the nursing station is ringing loudly, and you hear your name being called about your patient’s rhythm. Panic sets in…. Will you be able to correctly interpret the rhythm?!

Learn from nurse clinician, Marcia Gamaly, PhD(c), MSN, MHA, RN-BC, CEN, PCCN, during this unique learning opportunity. Through analysis of actual patient rhythm strips, you will return to work with new insights that will dramatically impact patient care outcomes.

• Don’t fear calls from the physician asking what the patient’s rhythm is! Improve your skills so
• you can accurately respond to physician questions.
• Develop confidence in your rhythm interpretation – for every complicated patient entrusted to your care.
• Anticipate medications and interventions needed for a variety of rhythms.
• Improve patient outcomes through quick identification and management of arrhythmias.

1. Describe accurate telemetry lead placement and daily management.
2. Formulate strategies to minimize alarm fatigue.
3. Compare and contrast sinus and atrial rhythms.
4. Distinguish differences between life-threatening arrhythmias.
5. Plan for the administration of emergency medications to terminate lethal arrhythmias.
6. Discriminate between stable and unstable cardiac rhythms.
7. Plan appropriate nursing care for the patient experiencing unstable tachycardias.
8. Evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to treat selected arrhythmias.

• Telemetry lead placement and management
  • Appropriate placement for 3-, 4-, 5- and 6-lead systems
  • VIDEO: Lead placement
  • Current recommendations for lead management
• Alarm management
  • Patient safety issue
  • Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goal
  • VIDEO: Tips to minimize alarming
• Rhythm interpretation
  • Cardiac anatomy
  • Cardiac conduction system
  • Measurement tips
  • 8 steps to interpretation
• Sinus rhythms
  • Sinus rhythm
  • Sinus bradycardia
  • Sinus tachycardia
  • Sinus arrhythmia
  • Sinus blocks and sinus arrest
  • VIDEO: Pacer pad placement
• Atrial rhythms
  • Premature Atrial Contractions (PACs)
  • Atrial tachycardia
  • Atrial flutter
  • Atrial fibrillation
  • Wandering Atrial Pacemaker (WAP)
  • VIDEO: Cardioversion
• Junctional rhythms
  • Junctional rhythm
  • Accelerated junctional
  • Junctional tachycardia
  • Junctional escape beat
  • Premature Junctional Contractions (PJCs)
• Ventricular rhythms
  • Ventricular rhythm
  • Accelerated ventricular
  • Ventricular tachycardia
  • Premature Ventricular Contractions (PVCs)
  • Torsades de Pointes
  • Ventricular fibrillation
  • Asystole
  • VIDEO: Code 99 management
  • VIDEO: Defibrillation
• Heart blocks
  • 1st degree
  • 2nd degree – Type I
  • 2nd degree – Type II
  • 3rd degree
  • VIDEO: Transcutaneous pacemaker management
• Pacemakers
  • A-paced
  • V-paced
  • AV-paced