CET EKG Technician Roles and Responsibilities 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When a patient refuses to have an EKG performed, what is the appropriate action for an EKG technician?
- Proceed with the test anyway since it is medically necessary
- Document the refusal and notify the supervising nurse or physician (Correct answer)
- Attempt to persuade the patient by explaining consequences
- Cancel the order without notifying anyone
Correct answer: Document the refusal and notify the supervising nurse or physician
The technician must document the refusal and immediately notify the supervising clinician so the care team can respond appropriately.
Question 2: Which of the following is a primary responsibility of an EKG technician during electrode placement?
- Interpreting ST-segment changes for the physician
- Ensuring proper skin preparation to reduce artifact (Correct answer)
- Selecting antiarrhythmic medications based on rhythm
- Adjusting the patient's cardiac monitor alarm thresholds
Correct answer: Ensuring proper skin preparation to reduce artifact
Proper skin preparation, including cleansing and light abrasion, minimizes electrical artifact and ensures accurate waveform capture.
Question 3: An EKG technician notices the patient is diaphoretic and unresponsive mid-procedure. The FIRST action should be:
- Complete the EKG tracing before calling for help
- Call for immediate clinical assistance and activate emergency response (Correct answer)
- Reposition the electrodes and retry the tracing
- Detach all leads and move the patient to a supine position
Correct answer: Call for immediate clinical assistance and activate emergency response
An unresponsive, diaphoretic patient is a medical emergency requiring immediate activation of emergency response before any other action.
Question 4: Which professional boundary is most important for EKG technicians to maintain?
- Sharing EKG interpretations directly with the patient
- Limiting clinical interpretation to licensed clinicians (Correct answer)
- Providing medication recommendations based on the rhythm strip
- Adjusting leads without informing the patient
Correct answer: Limiting clinical interpretation to licensed clinicians
EKG technicians acquire and transmit tracings; interpretation and clinical decision-making must remain within the scope of licensed clinicians.
Question 5: What information must an EKG technician verify before performing the procedure?
- Patient's insurance billing code
- Patient identity using two identifiers such as name and date of birth (Correct answer)
- The attending physician's pager number
- The hospital's current census count
Correct answer: Patient identity using two identifiers such as name and date of birth
Using at least two patient identifiers before any procedure is a Joint Commission safety requirement to prevent wrong-patient errors.
Question 6: How should an EKG technician handle a tracing that shows significant 60-Hz electrical interference?
- Submit the tracing as-is and note poor quality in the chart
- Check lead connections, ensure the patient is relaxed, and reacquire the tracing (Correct answer)
- Increase the gain setting to compensate for noise
- Report the equipment as broken and cancel the order
Correct answer: Check lead connections, ensure the patient is relaxed, and reacquire the tracing
60-Hz interference is usually caused by loose leads or nearby electrical equipment; repositioning leads and relaxing the patient typically resolves it before retrying.
Question 7: An EKG technician working in an outpatient clinic is asked by a patient's family member for the EKG results. The correct response is to:
- Read the waveform findings aloud to the family member
- Refer the family member to the patient's physician for results (Correct answer)
- Provide a copy of the tracing if the patient verbally consents
- Explain the rhythm in simple lay terms to reassure them
Correct answer: Refer the family member to the patient's physician for results
EKG results are protected health information, and interpretation must come from the physician; the technician should direct families accordingly.
CET EKG Technician Roles and Responsibilities 2
When a patient refuses to have an EKG performed, what is the appropriate action for an EKG technician?