Electrocardiogram (ECG) is an important tool in the examination of a patient's heart rhythm and activity at the exact moment. Every nurse should be able to take ECG in correctly and accurately. If the ECG is not taken correctly, it may result misdiagnosis or in a situation in which diagnosis is not made at all. This practice based bachelor's thesis has been commissioned by Rescue Department of Kanta-Häme. The practical part of the thesis was carried out by creating two educational videos. The background examines the ECG and its interpretation in the emergency care. The purpose of the thesis was to produce training and orientation material for the comissioner to be used in the orientation of personnel, new recruits, students and substitutes. The aim of the thesis was to increase the knowledge related to high quality ECG that is taken in first aid in the Rescue Department of Kanta-Häme. In addition, the alarming signs that require urgent attention while carrying out ECG are highlighted in the videos. Another aim was to increase the authors' own knowledge related to the heart, its function and the ECG. In the first video, the correct places in which the ECG electrodes should be placed on, are displayed. In the second video, the focus is on the different areas of the heart that can be specifically examined by placing the electrodes in certain positions. In addition, the rhythm changes that require urgent attention or treatment are presented in the video. The background of the thesis discusses the anatomy of the heart, its electrical and mechanical functions, as well as patient guidance and the reasons why ECG may be taken in emergency care. In addition, the thesis includes the scripts for the videos. The videos were filmed in the Rescue Department of Kanta-Häme's facilities and by using the equipment of the deparment. The videos were filmed and cut by department's own photographer. Two of the authors of the thesis perform on the video, one as a nurse and another as a patient, while the third assisted the photographer. The videos were scripted to be short and concise.
The background of the thesis was comprised from evidence-based information. ECG has been studied abdudantly, hence there are plenty of sources available. The sources used in this thesis were mostly national, but also some international sources were used. Only open-access sources were used in this thesis.