Electrocardiogram interpretation skills among ambulance nurses

To describe ambulance nurses’ practical electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation skills and to measure the correlation between these skills and factors that may impact on the level of knowledge.

This study was conducted using a prospective quantitative survey with questionnaires and a knowledge test. A convenience sample collection was conducted among ambulance nurses in three different districts in western Sweden. The knowledge test consisted of nine different ECGs. The score of the ECG test were correlated against the questions in the questionnaire regarding both general ECG interpretation skill and ability to identify acute myocardial infarction using Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal–Wallis test and Spearman’s rank correlation.

On average, the respondents had 54% correct answers on the test and identified 46% of the ECGs indicating acute myocardial infarction. The median total score was 9 of 16 (interquartile range 7–11) and 1 of 3 (IQR 1–2) in infarction points. No correlation between ECG interpretation skill and factors such as education and professional experience was found, except that coronary care unit experience was associated with better results on the ECG test.

Ambulance nurses have deficiencies in their ECG interpretation skills. This also applies to conditions where the ambulance crew has great potential to improve the outcome of the patient’s health, such as myocardial infarction and cardiac arrest. Neither education, extensive experience in ambulance service nor in nursing contributed to an improved result. The only factor of importance for higher ECG interpretation knowledge was prior experience of working in a coronary care unit.