Working as a CCT in the US

As an immigrant from China, and now an allied health professional working in the United States as an Electrocardiogram (ECG) technician, I feel that I have a unique perspective on our wonderful profession. I have witnessed that a good majority of ECG technicians in the USA are trained by coworkers. I feel that this allows a great opportunity for those individuals who are passionate about our field to learn as they work, but for whatever reason cannot attend a formal educational program. On the job training program cannot only be beneficial for employees, but also be beneficial for employers, allowing for individuals to learn “on-the-job” and gives the employers the ability to “mold” new employees into successful members of their “team” and “culture”.

As a on the job trained employee, who again also happens to be an immigrant where English is my second language, I am thankful for all the opportunities which I have received. No matter how rich and diverse my background was when arriving in my new home, I had to start over again in many aspects of my life. For me, I appreciate the on the job training opportunities that have allowed me to stay in a career which started while living in China. The fact that I qualified to sit for a certificate level examination through CCI made it even better. People can get credentialed as a Certified Cardiographic Technician (CCT) through the examination process, and there are multiple pathways to qualify, including by way of on the job training.

While co-worker training taught me how to be efficient at “the basic work” of an ECG lab, work such as getting an ECG tracing, finishing the paper work, performing the stress test, and hooking up a Holter monitor / event monitors…there are other tasks and skills which I feel you must teach yourself. Included in some of these “self taught” traits are inter-personal skills. It is very important that you learn how to treat people around you, not only your co-workers, but the patient who you are employed to serve. In my opinion, patients are the ones who make our life meaningful. The saying is true world-wide, “treat people as you want to be treated”. Treat your patients as your family members. Be respectful, gentle, and professional. There is a common saying in China that translates into “Customers are the God.” I would suppose this saying would be closest to the American saying “the customer is always right”…but with slightly different context. The meaning of this saying as interpreted by a healthcare professional should be that we need to treat our patients as high dignitaries. We are here to serve them, to take care of them. We are here to serve them in the most professional and courteous manner we can. The same level of courtesy, appreciation and professionalism should be shown to your coworkers. We all work together as a team, and together we help each other to provide the best service to our patients.

Working in a hospital keeps us very busy and there are times when we hardly see certain members of our “team”. That makes communication more important. It is our job to create a nice working environment. We are here to take care of patients and as a team we are here to help each other so that the job is done well. Our primary goal is to do the best work we can do as an individual; but a close second is helping others perform to their best. Being positive with your coworkers will only help everyone do their best in serving patients.

The benefits from a positive and understanding work-place are countless. As an ECG technician, we are not required to read ECGs, but we do need to know what we are doing and what the ECG means. Knowledge levels which go above and beyond that of “minimum” or “fundamental” can only make us better at assisting patients in understanding procedures and help to make them more comfortable. Included in the quest for knowledge, I feel that ECG technicians can always use help in understanding how to make the tracing better. As a “new resident” in the USA, I utilized Dubin’s “Rapid Interpretation of ECGs” and found it a very excellent reference.

I have also found it helpful to listen to what the doctors or nurses say to the patients when we are doing stress tests. By being attentive I feel more comfortable in understanding more patient situations and the purpose of the tests we perform. I have been a CCT since the fall of 2002, and I love the knowledge I have gained to become a CCT and allied health professional.

I believe that getting credentialed by CCI was a positive move in my career as a healthcare professional. However, I am not ready to stop the progression of my learning. I am looking forward to working in and learning more about the opportunities in the Invasive Cardiovascular field.

I recently took and passed the Cardiovascular Science Examination through CCI. I found the computer based testing format to be wonderful. Studying for this exam was made easier by following the instructions and studying the books which were referenced with the examination content outline. I found that in addition to the knowledge I had gained through my schooling in China and my work experience here in Eugene, Oregon, that I did not require much studying time, half hour a day was enough for preparing the test. When I felt I was almost ready, CCI had a self assessment exam which I ordered and then tested my knowledge in the particular subject areas.

My job doesn’t require me to be certified to be an ECG technician. I did it for myself, as a professional achievement. I have received many personal rewards from becoming credentialed. Besides the growth of confidence in myself, I have also gained the desire to study more, learn more and “do” more. I believe that as I learn more, I can serve my patients better. I also believe that knowledge is something that will never be wasted. For my experience working in the USA as a CCT, knowledge of the technology basics is the only the beginning, by adding positive interpersonal communication with patients and coworkers you can become the best at whatever health care profession you work in.



This article was published on The Pulse at fall 2004