Cardiac Monitor Specialist

At CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center - Bergan Mercy, our focus is patient-centered care. Our level I trauma center and academic medical center campus is designed to heal the body, mind, and spirit of every person in a more comfortable, less stressful hospital environment. Our full range of medical services includes trauma services, heart and vascular care, emergency services, surgery, maternity, cancer care, and diagnostic imaging.

• Confirms initiation and discontinuation of patient monitoring with the nurse upon admission/discharge or transfer, obtains pertinent information and completes the plan of care for cardiac monitoring
• Responds to all monitoring alarms, Identifies abnormalities, interprets cardiac arrhythmias, triages actionable events, evaluates trends, notifies the nurse according to alarm management protocols, adjusts alarm parameters, and documents significant occurrences for the medical record
• Ensures safe patient monitoring by: ensuring alarms are kept on with appropriate limits in accordance with Clinical Alarm Standards; responding immediately to life-threatening arrhythmias notifying the appropriate response team within 1 minute; recognizing changes in ST segments, QT intervals, SpO2 waveforms, and BP measurements immediately communicating abnormal findings to the nurse; following Leads Off protocol documenting patients’ whereabouts throughout the monitoring period
• Tracks patient monitoring activities, interprets/documents cardiac rhythm strips for each monitored patient every 12 hours, reviews/edits alarm categories in event disclosure, and produces a 24 hour graphic summary report for each patient
• Communicates with the nursing staff to check patient census, obtain pertinent information, report problems with ECG signals, discuss clinical significance of cardiac arrhythmias, review alarm parameters, and obtain guidelines for monitoring
• Maintains shift documentation, keeps monitoring team informed of patients’ cardiac rhythm activities, provides unit hand-off report before leaving the monitoring station
• Performs holter scanning analysis to produce a daily cardiac arrhythmia management report on selected patients as ordered by the physician
• Uses established guidelines to review 24 hour event disclosure to assist in evaluating the need for continuing telemetry and communicates to the nurse or resident when appropriate use telemetry discussion is needed with the physician
• Enters daily telemetry charges for each monitored patient
• Performs as a super user of all features of the Monitoring System, assists nurses, physicians, residents, and learners in the retrieval of monitoring data
• Evaluates equipment malfunctions, reports problems, issues, or concerns to leader or appropriate team for resolution

Licensure & Certification

• BLS from the American Heart Association required upon hire

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• New hire is required to successfully complete Basic ECG Interpretation class within two weeks
• One month on-the-job training/experience provided to achieve competency in cardiac rhythm skills and operation of the centralized telemetry system
• Within six months, employee is expected to complete certification for cardiac rhythm analysis technician (CRAT) offered by Cardiovascular Credentialing International