Skill Checklists for Taylor's Clinical Nursing Skills: A Nursing Process Approach

343

Skill Checklists for Taylor's Clinical Nursing Skills:
A Nursing Process Approach, 3rd edition

Name Date

Unit Position

Instructor/Evaluator: Position

SKILL 16-2

Applying a Cardiac Monitor

Goal:A clear waveform, free from artifact, is displayed on

the cardiac monitor. Comments

1. Verify the order for cardiac monitoring on the patient’s
   medical record.


2. Gather all equipment and bring to bedside.


3. Perform hand hygiene and put on PPE, if indicated.


4. Identify the patient.


5. Close curtains around bed and close the door to the room,
   if possible. Explain the procedure to the patient. Tell the
   patient that the monitoring records the heart’s electrical
   activity. Emphasize that no electrical current will enter his
   or her body. Ask the patient about allergies to adhesive, as
   appropriate.


6. For hardwire monitoring, plug the cardiac monitor into an
   electrical outlet and turn it on to warm up the unit while
   preparing the equipment and the patient. For telemetry
   monitoring, insert a new battery into the transmitter.
   Match the poles on the battery with the polar markings on
   the transmitter case. Press the button at the top of the unit,
   test the battery’s charge, and test the unit to ensure that
   the battery is operational.


7. Insert the cable into the appropriate socket in the monitor.


8. Connect the lead wires to the cable. In some systems,
   the lead wires are permanently secured to the cable. For
   telemetry, if the lead wires are not permanently affixed to
   the telemetry unit, attach them securely. If they must be
   attached individually, connect each one to the correct
   outlet.


9. Connect an electrode to each of the lead wires, carefully
   checking that each lead wire is in its correct outlet.


10. If the bed is adjustable, raise it to a comfortable working
    height, usually elbow height of the caregiver (VISN 8
    Patient Safety Center, 2009).

Copyright © 2011 by Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Skill Checklists for Taylor's Clinical Nursing Skills:

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