Jennifer Carlquist, PA-C, and course director of The Urgent Care EKG Course shares a few helpful tips when looking at EKGs from patients in urgent care.
1. If your patient has pain worsening with laying flat or leaning forward, it may be pericarditis.
2.This is a complicated issue that goes beyond simple EKG interpretation. I recommend leaving this out. Otherwise, it’s ok to say “New onset A fib should be referred to the ED for further evaluation to rule out ACS” or something to that effect.
3. A 2:1 atrial flutter can be hard to differentiate from sinus tachycardia. You can perform “Lewis Leads” to bring out the flutter waves.
4. Someone can have chest pain and a normal EKG and still have severe coronary artery disease that requires stenting and even CABG.
5. If someone has chest pain that goes to the right arm and not the left, it can still be from ACS.
This course is ideal for PAs and NPs practicing in urgent care. Whether you’re new to practice or have many years of experience, you’re sure to learn practical, evidence-based tips you can use on your next shift. You can sharpen your EKG interpretation skills, improve your accuracy, become more proficient, and boost your clinical confidence with The Urgent Care EKG Course.
Visit https://www.ebmedicine.net/ekg to learn more.
Even more content:
Check out one of our latest reels (less than one minute!) Jennifer Carlquist, the course director.
