New EKG Program Offered at NECC
Beginning this fall, Northern Essex Community College will offer an EKG Technician certificate program designed to prepare individuals, interested in the health care field, to perform electrocardiograms on patients to record and monitor their heart rate and rhythm.
This career path is ideal for those interested in the health care field who like working with people and possess good interpersonal skills. EKGs are done routinely as a preventative measure, and are also used as a diagnostic tool. Most EKG technicians work in hospitals, but some also work in doctors’ offices and medical and diagnostic labs.
At Northern Essex, the EKG Technician Certificate will prepare individuals for employment as entry level EKG technicians. The program includes classroom theory and laboratory practices, anatomy and physiology of the heart, legal aspects of patient care, and electrocardiography and the proper use and functions of the EKG machine. Upon successful completion of the program participants are eligible to take the National Healthcare Association certification exam for EKG Technicians.
Overall, job outlook for well-trained EKG Technicians is excellent. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), www.bls.gov, expects a 26% increase in positions between 2006 and 2016 for EKG Technicians and technologists.
Courses include human biology and lab, English Composition I, electrocardiography, medical language I and II, healthcare law and ethics, and a computer elective, all of which contribute to preparing for graduates for success in a health care career.
Northern Essex offers 18 certificate and associate degree programs in health care ranging from medical assisting to respiratory therapy to nursing. For a full list of programs, please visit the college’s website, www.necc.mass.edu, or call enrollment services at 978 556-3700.
With campuses in Haverhill and Lawrence and extension sites in Andover and Methuen, Northern Essex Community College is a state-assisted college, offering over 70 associate degree and certificate programs as well as hundreds of non credit courses designed for personal enrichment and career growth. Close to 13,000 students ranging from recent high school graduates to workers employed locally attend classes days, evenings, and weekends. Northern Essex is the only state college located in the lower Merrimack Valley Region of Massachusetts.