Thanks, David, for helping us get this forum started.  This is a brand-new website, but we want it to be the gathering place for people who teach ECG and ACLS, along with other cardiac topics.  Please pass the site along to your colleagues, and let us know how we can make the site suit your needs.

Thanks for initiating a post.  It's hard to get conversations going on a new forum.  Hope others jump in on the conversations.  

I have been a Paramedic since 1996 and have seen a decline in ECG skills.  It seems that paramedic and nursing students learn only what they have to these days.  many do not seem to see that an ECG can lead them to more than the right ACLS algorithm.  I've heard so many paramedics say, "when all else fails, just get the patient to the hospital." 

The problem is that many have not done the "all else" part.  like actually read the strip to to find out why the patient's blood pressure might be low.  Also, the assumption that the ER staff will do any better is presumptive since many dangerous arrhythmias can be corrected before the patient is transported.  I've seen many times when a delay in treatment may have cost the person their life.