The medical assistant classes worked on how to use an electrocardiogram (EKG) and how to count heart beats throughout last week. Students are learning these skills to prepare for the certification test.

“Counting heart rate is very interesting,” senior Henrique Arantes said. “It was also cool to see the difference in heart beats from each strip.”

Students drew EKG cycles and a heart conduction illustration. The illustration allowed students to learn about different parts of the heart as well as how blood flows through.

“It was very interesting to see the different parts of the heart,” senior Jordan Hill said. “It was also cool to see how everything works together.”

They worked on different stations of scenarios they may encounter while working in health care. Additionally, they watched different videos on how to operate an EKG.

“The stations were cool because we got to see scenarios that we could see at the hospital,” Jordan said. “Seeing them and working it out is good practice for our upcoming test.”

Students learned how to count heart rate while observing different heart rate strips. They also got the chance to look at different heart conditions based on what the strip looked like. To test their skills, students performed an EKG lead placement lab to see if they could put everything together on a mannequin. They had to do a video explaining each step.

“Putting the EKG leads on a mannequin was great practice,” Arantes said. “The video also helped us see what we know and what we need to work on.”