What does a telemetry nurse do?
A Telemetry Nurse is a specialized nurse who monitors the patients under their watch by making use of remote electronic signals that are sensitive to any change in cardiac rhythm. You will be tasked with monitoring the internal functions and vital signs of a patient. These signs under monitoring include blood pressure, heart rhythms, oxygen saturation, and respiration. Your basic duty is to ensure that you closely observe the patient and get proper readings and measurements from the medical equipment.
Telemetry nurse responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real telemetry nurse resumes:
- Care for patients with a variety of cardiac issues and manage disease through drip management and interpretation of EKG's.
- Organize and manage regular clinics involving external physicians, including ophthalmology, ENT, Med/Surg, orthopedics, and podiatry professionals.
- Apply the nursing process in a teaching hospital to patients in an ICU setting.
- Discharge patients; disconnect IVs/telemetry devices and provide patient teaching on wind care, medication regimens, rehabilitation and other topics.
- Well verse in identifying basic ECG rhythms and arrhythmia's.
- Perform patient assessment, tele monitoring, cardiac arrhythmia treatment.
- Administer medications, hang medication drips, perform EKG testing, and provide nurse draws for laboratory.
- Demonstrate clinical competency and compassion in providing care.
- Administer medications and identify irregular heart rhythms; transfer to ICU
- Provide complete nursing care to patients requiring ongoing cardiac monitoring for life threatening irregularities.
- Perform electrocardiogram monitoring and medication administration.
- Assist LPN staff with administration of intramuscular (IM) and oral medications.
- Utilize Meditech charting system with heavy daily patient volume and complex medical presentations.
- Demonstrate expertise in utilizing MediTech computerize system in patient charting, as well as to accessing patient diagnostics and laboratory results.
- Perform electrocardiogram monitoring and medication administration.
Telemetry nurse skills and personality traits
We calculated that 24% of Telemetry Nurses are proficient in Patients, BLS, and Acls. They’re also known for soft skills such as Critical-thinking skills, Communication skills, and Compassion.
We break down the percentage of Telemetry Nurses that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 24%
Provided care for pediatric patients that included scoliosis corrective surgery (Vertebral fusions with instrumentation).
- BLS, 16%
Provided total patient care for a workload of 4 patients BLS, ACLS and PALS certified at the time.
- Acls, 11%
Identified emergencies, initiated calling codes, and participated in ACLS and PALS protocol.
- Blood Pressure, 7%
Monitor, analyze, and interpret data on blood pressure, cardiac rhythm, and physical distress.
- Acute Care, 5%
Care of patients in a medical surgical telemetry wing of a Long Term Acute Care hospital (LTAC).
- Heart Rate, 5%
Administer cardiac drips and monitor patient's heart rate at bedside to achieve stable controlled heart rate.
Common skills that a telemetry nurse uses to do their job include "patients," "bls," and "acls." You can find details on the most important telemetry nurse responsibilities below.
Critical-thinking skills. The most essential soft skill for a telemetry nurse to carry out their responsibilities is critical-thinking skills. This skill is important for the role because "registered nurses must assess changes in the health status of patients, such as determining when to take corrective action." Additionally, a telemetry nurse resume shows how their duties depend on critical-thinking skills: "provide safe and effective patient care using critical-thinking skills. "
Communication skills. Many telemetry nurse duties rely on communication skills. "registered nurses must be able to communicate effectively with patients in order to understand their concerns and evaluate their health conditions," so a telemetry nurse will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways telemetry nurse responsibilities rely on communication skills: "demonstrated strong communication skills when working with patients, family and staff. "
Compassion. This is an important skill for telemetry nurses to perform their duties. For an example of how telemetry nurse responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "registered nurses should be caring and empathetic when working with patients." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a telemetry nurse: "care with compassion and knowledge, continuous patient/family education, direct patient care. ".
Detail oriented. telemetry nurse responsibilities often require "detail oriented." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "registered nurses must be precise because they must ensure that patients get the correct treatments and medicines at the right time." This resume example shows what telemetry nurses do with detail oriented on a typical day: "provided patients with detailed follow-up instructions prior to release. "
Emotional stability. Another crucial skill for a telemetry nurse to carry out their responsibilities is "emotional stability." A big part of what telemetry nurses relies on this skill, since "registered nurses need emotional resilience and the ability to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other stressors." How this skill relates to telemetry nurse duties can be seen in an example from a telemetry nurse resume snippet: "provided emotional support, patient education, basic diagnostics, and other patient procedures. "
Organizational skills. Lastly, "organizational skills" is an important element of what a telemetry nurse does. Telemetry nurse responsibilities require this skill because "nurses often work with multiple patients who have a variety of health needs." This resume example highlights how telemetry nurse duties rely on this skill: "provide individualized quality patient care consistent with organizational standards. "
The three companies that hire the most telemetry nurses are:
- UT Health East Texas123 telemetry nurses jobs
- WakeMed53 telemetry nurses jobs
- Catholic Health Initiatives - Colorado39 telemetry nurses jobs
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Compare different telemetry nurses
Telemetry nurse vs. Nurse educator
A nurse educator is responsible for teaching aspiring professional nurses, designing courses according to the curriculum, and organizing activities to practice and enhance the students' knowledge. Nurse educators manage clinical activities and observe the students' performance in actual training. They must have excellent knowledge of the medical industry, as well as its practices, to respond to the students' inquiries and concerns accurately. A nurse educator identifies the students' strengths and weaknesses, develop comprehensive lesson plans, and strategizing various nursing programs.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, telemetry nurse responsibilities require skills like "blood pressure," "heart rate," "epic," and "electrocardiogram." Meanwhile a typical nurse educator has skills in areas such as "bsn," "professional development," "cpr," and "educational programs." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Nurse educators really shine in the pharmaceutical industry with an average salary of $94,493. Comparatively, telemetry nurses tend to make the most money in the health care industry with an average salary of $64,316.The education levels that nurse educators earn slightly differ from telemetry nurses. In particular, nurse educators are 14.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a telemetry nurse. Additionally, they're 1.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Telemetry nurse vs. Registered professional nurse
The job of a nurse extern is to assist the mentor nurse in their nursing duties. They help the mentor nurse in various medical procedures such as administering medications or starting intravenous therapies. They provide or help with personal patient care, including changing bed linens, oral hygiene, and bathing. Nurse externships typically have different requirements that include having finished nursing school, completing a clinical nursing course before the training, and being registered in a nursing program.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real telemetry nurse resumes. While telemetry nurse responsibilities can utilize skills like "blood pressure," "heart rate," "electrocardiogram," and "quality care," registered professional nurses use skills like "patient safety," "healthcare professionals," "surgery," and "cpr."
Registered professional nurses earn a lower average salary than telemetry nurses. But registered professional nurses earn the highest pay in the utilities industry, with an average salary of $64,620. Additionally, telemetry nurses earn the highest salaries in the health care with average pay of $64,316 annually.In general, registered professional nurses achieve similar levels of education than telemetry nurses. They're 2.6% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 1.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for telemetry nurses in the next 3-5 years?
Lisa Rebeschi Ph.D.
Associate Dean of the School of Nursing Professor of Nursing, Quinnipiac University
Telemetry nurse vs. Nurse extern
A registered charge nurse is responsible for supervising nurses' workflow in a particular department or area, ensuring every patient gets the proper care that they need. A registered charge nurse has the discretion to direct tasks, arrange schedules, and monitor patients, such as in the aspects of admission and discharge. Furthermore, a registered charge nurse must maintain an active line of communication and coordination among nurses, physicians, and other personnel involved as the conditions in a hospital can be unpredictable.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a telemetry nurse is likely to be skilled in "bls," "acls," "acute care," and "heart rate," while a typical nurse extern is skilled in "cpr," "direct supervision," "medical-surgical," and "patient safety."
Nurse externs earn the highest salary when working in the health care industry, where they receive an average salary of $39,085. Comparatively, telemetry nurses have the highest earning potential in the health care industry, with an average salary of $64,316.When it comes to education, nurse externs tend to earn similar degree levels compared to telemetry nurses. In fact, they're 1.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Telemetry nurse vs. Registered nurse charge nurse
Even though a few skill sets overlap between telemetry nurses and registered nurses charge nurses, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a telemetry nurse might have more use for skills like "blood pressure," "heart rate," "epic," and "electrocardiogram." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of registered nurses charge nurses require skills like "cpr," "resident care," "quality patient care," and "patient safety. "
The health care industry tends to pay the highest salaries for registered nurses charge nurses, with average annual pay of $68,929. Comparatively, the highest telemetry nurse annual salary comes from the health care industry.In general, registered nurses charge nurses hold similar degree levels compared to telemetry nurses. Registered nurses charge nurses are 1.4% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of telemetry nurse
Updated January 8, 2025
