EKG Technician Exam
Information
Certified Electrocardiogram Technician (CET) Exam Details
Altrain Assisting Academy assists our students through the entire process of obtaining their CET Certification. This exam is an industry certification developed by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA). We teach everything that is on the exam throughout the classroom portion of the program.
Students will learn basic anatomy and physiology of the heart, emergencies related to cardiac testing including syncope, chest pain, abnormal vitals, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and basic life support, along with safety, compliance and coordinated patient care, EKG Acquisition, Analysis and Interpretation, Holter Monitor and Stress Testing.
We thoroughly prepare our students for the written exam with lectures, pretests and handouts, along with hands-on training. Each student will also receive study and prep materials from the NHA. We submit their application and include the exam fees and study materials in the tuition. Altrain Assisting Academy is an approved testing center and the CET is administered on-site in a comfortable environment for our students.
Domain 1 – Safety, Compliance, and Coordinated Patient Care
Safety and Compliance domain has nine subtopics relating to HIPPA regulations, infection control, instructing patients about preparation for and expectations during stress testing, and more. Overall, it’s critically important for EKG technicians to be aware of the safety, privacy, and comfort of the patients they treat.
Domain 2 – EKG Acquisition
EKG Acquisition domain includes ten subtopics relating to maintaining EKG equipment, verifying machine settings, preparing skin for electrode placement, and verifying that all leads were recorded. As an EKG Technician, preparing for and carrying out testing is one of the most crucial aspects of daily work.
Domain 3: EKG Analysis and Interpretation
The EKG Analysis and Interpretation domain is made of eight subtopics and supporting statements such as:
- Calculate patient’s heart rate from the EKG tracing
- Determine the regularity of the patient’s heart rhythm from the EKG tracing
- Measure EKG intervals and waveforms
- Inspect the waveform characteristics for symmetry, direction, and amplitude
- Identify arrhythmias from the EKG tracing
- Recognize pacemaker spikes on an EKG tracing
- Identify ischemia, injury, and infarction on the EKG tracing
- Take appropriate action when life-threatening arrhythmias are identified
An EKG Technician needs to be able to quickly identify important information from the readings, especially when it could save a patient’s life.
Core Knowledge
In addition to the three main domains, the NHA lists “Core Knowledge” that may be used in the context of questions on the exam. The core knowledge falls into three areas:
- Basic anatomy and physiology of the heart
- Emergencies related to cardiac testing
- Cardiopulmonary resuscitation and basic life support
