Top 12 EKG Technician Skills to Put on Your Resume
A standout resume helps EKG technicians push past the noise, showing sharp technical chops and the broader patient-centered skills employers crave. When you present a balanced mix—precision with leads, calm communication, airtight documentation—you raise your odds of interviews and open doors to roles with more responsibility.
EKG Technician Skills
- Electrocardiography
- Holter Monitoring
- Telemetry Interpretation
- Stress Testing
- Pacemaker Analysis
- Arrhythmia Recognition
- Epic Systems
- Cerner Millennium
- Patient Education
- HIPAA Compliance
- Basic Life Support (BLS)
- Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
1. Electrocardiography
Electrocardiography records the heart’s electrical activity through skin electrodes. Core to diagnosis. Vital for monitoring. Foundational for triage and treatment decisions. EKG technicians own accurate skin prep, correct lead placement, clean tracings, and smooth, safe test execution.
Why It's Important
It captures rhythm, rate, conduction patterns, and ischemic signs in minutes—flagging problems early so care teams can act quickly and appropriately.
How to Improve Electrocardiography Skills
Blend repetition with targeted study and feedback.
Keep learning: Refresh core anatomy, lead vectors, artifact sources, and current practice guidelines through accredited courses and professional societies.
Practice readings: Review diverse tracings regularly—normal variants, conduction blocks, ischemic changes, electrolyte effects, pediatric vs. adult patterns.
Seek feedback: Discuss tricky strips with seasoned clinicians; compare your reads against verified interpretations.
Know your machines: Master calibration, filter settings, paper speed, gain, and common error messages across models used in your facility.
Refine workflow: Standardize skin prep, lead placement checks, and verification steps to reduce repeats and noise.
Small habits—meticulous prep, calm patient coaching—pay off in cleaner studies and fewer do-overs.
How to Display Electrocardiography Skills on Your Resume
2. Holter Monitoring
Holter monitoring records continuous heart rhythms over 24–48 hours (sometimes longer) using a portable device. You prep the skin, place leads well, educate the patient, verify signal quality, and ensure data transfers cleanly for clinician review.
Why It's Important
Intermittent arrhythmias often hide during short in-clinic EKGs. Holters catch what momentary snapshots miss, improving diagnostic accuracy.
How to Improve Holter Monitoring Skills
Nail placement: Use consistent landmarks and secure leads to cut motion artifact. Meticulous skin prep matters.
Educate clearly: Provide written and verbal guidance on activity limits, diary entries, bathing restrictions, and when to call.
Verify operation: Confirm battery, storage, timestamps, and baseline signal before the patient leaves.
Streamline downloads: Standardize data upload, labeling, and routing to the reading clinician with zero ambiguity.
Prioritize comfort: Choose low-profile leads and securement that don’t irritate skin; better comfort means better compliance.
How to Display Holter Monitoring Skills on Your Resume
3. Telemetry Interpretation
Telemetry interpretation means continuously watching rhythm strips, spotting changes fast, and notifying the team without delay. Pattern recognition, trend awareness, and crisp escalation—core to safe monitoring.
Why It's Important
Real-time detection of deterioration saves lives. Subtle rate drifts, new ectopy, widening QRS—small signs that can foreshadow big trouble.
How to Improve Telemetry Interpretation Skills
Reinforce fundamentals: Axis, intervals, waves, lead views, common artifacts, and their look on telemetry.
Daily rhythm drills: Short, frequent review sessions with annotated strips build speed and confidence.
Use reference aids: Keep quick pocket references handy for uncommon rhythms and pacing nuances.
Case huddles: Debrief notable events with peers and supervisors; align on thresholds for escalation.
Simulate alarms: Practice response flow for bradycardia, VT, asystole, and artifact storms to reduce hesitation.
How to Display Telemetry Interpretation Skills on Your Resume
4. Stress Testing
During exercise or pharmacologic stress tests, you prepare the patient, place leads precisely, monitor continuously, document stages, and support the supervising clinician. Watchful eyes, steady hands.
Why It's Important
It reveals inducible ischemia and exertional arrhythmias, guiding treatment plans and fitness for procedures or rehab.
How to Improve Stress Testing Skills
Perfect prep: Thorough skin prep and lead placement reduce motion noise and false positives.
Set expectations: Explain stages, symptoms to report, and what “stop” means. Anxiety drops, cooperation rises.
Maintain equipment: Regular checks on treadmills, BP cuffs, cables, and software prevent mid-test hiccups.
Monitor like a hawk: Track vitals and tracings in real time; escalate promptly for concerning changes.
Close strong: Recovery monitoring, safe lead removal, and clean documentation—including METs, timing, and notable events.
Stay current: Refresh on protocols and contraindications; know when to pause, convert to pharmacologic stress, or terminate.
How to Display Stress Testing Skills on Your Resume
5. Pacemaker Analysis
In day-to-day practice, EKG technicians recognize pacemaker rhythms on ECGs, identify pacing spikes, and document capture and sensing patterns. Full device interrogation and programming are typically handled by a device clinic or cardiology specialist.
Why It's Important
Spotting failure to capture, undersensing, oversensing, or loss of pacing can prompt timely evaluation and device checks—protecting patients from preventable instability.
How to Improve Pacemaker Analysis Skills
Master pacing basics: Modes (e.g., VVI, DDD), spikes, fusion beats, pseudofusion, and how they present on surface ECGs.
Catalog patterns: Build a personal library of normal vs. abnormal paced rhythms for quick comparison.
Know artifacts: Distinguish muscle noise or lead issues from true pacing spikes.
Collaborate: Review atypical tracings with electrophysiology staff to tighten your pattern recognition.
Document precisely: Label paced rhythms, note capture consistency, and timestamp events to aid downstream interpretation.
How to Display Pacemaker Analysis Skills on Your Resume
6. Arrhythmia Recognition
Identify abnormal rhythms swiftly and accurately—atrial fibrillation, SVT, AV blocks, VT/VF, and more—then alert the appropriate clinician using clear, concise handoffs.
Why It's Important
Early detection and rapid communication avert deterioration. Wrong call, missed call, or slow call can change outcomes.
How to Improve Arrhythmia Recognition Skills
Revisit core rules: Rate, regularity, P-QRS relationships, intervals, and morphology—applied methodically under pressure.
High-volume practice: Daily exposure to diverse strips hardwires recognition pathways.
Leverage references: Use vetted clinical guides and trusted apps for quick checks when a rhythm looks off the beaten path.
Peer review: Share challenging tracings, compare reads, and align on notification criteria.
Drill alarm fatigue defenses: Distinguish artifact from true events; tune filter use and lead selection to clarify ambiguity.
How to Display Arrhythmia Recognition Skills on Your Resume
7. Epic Systems
Epic is a widely used electronic health record platform. For EKG techs, it means quick access to orders, streamlined documentation, smooth result routing, and better coordination with the care team.
Why It's Important
Cleaner data in the right chart, at the right time, for the right clinician—cuts delays and reduces repeat testing.
How to Improve Epic Systems Skills
Take the training: Complete role-specific modules; new features roll out often.
Tune your tools: Customize smart phrases, favorites, and order sets that match EKG workflows.
Close the loop: Work with IT to ensure device-to-chart integrations label studies correctly and land where clinicians expect them.
Report friction: Log issues and suggest refinements; frontline feedback drives meaningful tweaks.
Learn from peers: Share tips for faster charting and better result tracking within your department.
How to Display Epic Systems Skills on Your Resume
8. Cerner Millennium
Cerner Millennium is another major EHR used across hospitals and clinics. It supports order management, documentation, device connectivity, and distribution of finalized EKG results.
Why It's Important
Integrated data means fewer errors, faster reads, and better continuity of care across shifts and units.
How to Improve Cerner Millennium Skills
Streamline screens: Customize views and templates to reduce clicks for common EKG tasks.
Targeted training: Focus on features you use daily—orders, device import, labeling, and result routing.
Strengthen device integration: Coordinate with clinical engineering so EKG data pushes to the correct patient and encounter every time.
Use alerts wisely: Enable notification workflows for critical findings according to your facility’s policy.
Encourage feedback: Create a simple pathway for techs to report issues and share quick wins.
How to Display Cerner Millennium Skills on Your Resume
9. Patient Education
Explain what the test is, what it feels like, what to do (and not do), and why it matters. A calm, clear minute at the start saves ten later.
Why It's Important
When patients know the plan, they relax. Less artifact. Better data. Fewer repeats. More trust.
How to Improve Patient Education Skills
Speak plainly: Replace jargon with everyday language; check for understanding.
Show, don’t just tell: Use simple visuals or a quick demo to set expectations.
Normalize nerves: Reassure patients that the test is quick, safe, and common.
Use handouts: Provide short FAQs covering prep, medications, devices, and follow-up.
Invite questions: Pause for concerns before you start; address them without rushing.
Offer credible resources: Point to your facility’s patient education materials or trusted public health sites.
How to Display Patient Education Skills on Your Resume
10. HIPAA Compliance
Protecting patient information—verbal, written, and electronic—across collection, storage, and sharing. Always on, no shortcuts.
Why It's Important
Privacy builds trust. Security prevents harm. Compliance keeps patients safe and organizations accountable.
How to Improve HIPAA Compliance Skills
Know the rules: Understand Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification requirements and how they apply to your role.
Lock it down: Use strong passwords, unique logins, and secure storage; don’t share credentials. Log off between patients.
Mind your voice: Avoid discussing patient info in public spaces; confirm identity before sharing details.
Train regularly: Complete annual updates; policies evolve and technology changes.
Access controls: Only open what you need for the task; review access logs if your role includes oversight.
Risk checks: Participate in audits and report vulnerabilities promptly.
Breach readiness: Know your facility’s response plan; escalate potential incidents immediately.
Respect patient rights: Provide privacy notices and follow processes for record requests or restrictions.
How to Display HIPAA Compliance Skills on Your Resume
11. Basic Life Support (BLS)
BLS covers recognition of cardiac arrest, high-quality CPR, use of an AED, and relief of choking. EKG techs may be first to notice trouble—being ready matters.
Why It's Important
Early CPR and defibrillation can double or triple survival in cardiac arrest. Speed and technique count.
How to Improve Basic Life Support (BLS) Skills
Follow current guidelines: Refresh with accredited courses; updates arrive periodically.
Hands-on practice: Revisit compressions, ventilation, and AED use on manikins at regular intervals.
Scenario training: Simulate events in your actual workspace to iron out delays and role confusion.
Quality focus: Emphasize rate, depth, recoil, minimal pauses, and team choreography.
Feedback loops: Use devices or instructor feedback to sharpen technique.
Stay calm-ready: Mental rehearsal helps you act decisively when seconds feel loud.
How to Display Basic Life Support (BLS) Skills on Your Resume
12. Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
ACLS adds rhythm-directed interventions, team leadership principles, and post-arrest care frameworks on top of BLS. For EKG technicians, the emphasis is rapid recognition, clear communication, and effective support of the resuscitation team within scope and policy.
Why It's Important
When high-risk events erupt, knowing algorithms, rhythms, and roles shortens time to action and reduces confusion.
How to Improve Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) Skills
Deepen rhythm mastery: Quickly differentiate shockable vs. non-shockable rhythms and common peri-arrest patterns.
Stay guideline-current: Review updates and local protocols so your actions align with team expectations.
Simulate under pressure: Practice megacode scenarios; rehearse your specific responsibilities and handoff language.
Maintain certification: Keep credentials active if required by your role or facility; refresh ahead of expiration.
Debrief after events: Reflect on timing, communication, and equipment readiness to tighten future performance.
How to Display Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) Skills on Your Resume
