Certificate in EKG Technician 

offered by San Francisco State University

Detailed anatomy and physiology of the heart and cardiovascular system

Medical disease processes and terminology

Medical ethics and legal aspects of patient contact

Electrocardiography and echocardiography

An introduction to the components, function, and proper use of the EKG machine

The normal anatomy of the chest wall for proper lead placement

12-lead placement and other practices

Role of the EKG technician

Function of the EKG department in a variety of settings (hospital, clinic, office, mobile service)

Medical terminology related to electrocardiography

Care and safety of patients including medical and legal aspects of patient care

Electrophysiology, the conduction system of the heart, and the cardiac cycle

Basic EKG interpretation of normal rhythms and arrhythmias

EKG troubleshooting including recognizing artifacts

Waves and measurements

EKG strip analysis (P,Q,R,S,T wave-form interpretation)

Identification of rhythms using the 12-lead EKG

Pacemakers

Holter monitoring and the echocardiogram