Cardiac rhythm recognition and haemodynamic monitoring competency for ward and critical care nurses

A ready-made course you customise for your organisation, with a live session deck and two surveys. You only add the 16 details that are specific to your organisation.

Length
40 min
Lessons
6 lessons
Frequency
At induction to a monitored area
Last reviewed
21 Oct 2026
Haemodynamics and invasive monitoring
What would you do?

A patient's blood pressure trend drifts downwards over the shift

Try it: this is one of 19 interactive activities in the course.

What's included

Three pieces that work together

Copy once, get everything. Learners prepare on their own, you answer questions live, and the surveys tell you what stuck.

Self-paced course

Short lessons with real workplace scenarios, not walls of text.

  • 6 lessons, about 40 minutes
  • Process, flashcards, accordion, sorting activity and quizzes

Live session deck

An AhaSlides presentation to run after the course, in person or online.

  • 10 slides
  • Quiz, word cloud, poll, scale slides
  • A closing slide for your contacts

Two surveys

Find out what landed, and whether people use it on the job.

  • Post-course feedback, about 2 minutes
  • 30-day check-in
  • Anonymous by default
  • Results feed your next refresher

Learning objectives

At the end of this course, learners can

Each objective and the lesson that covers it.

IDObjectiveSourceWhere it's covered
TO 315.0Achieve ≥ 80% on the final assessmentNoneWhole course
SO 315.1Set up continuous monitoring, prepare the skin and place leads under local policy + your infoExamples: AACN Practice Alert on ECG monitoring; best practiceWhole course
SO 315.2Analyse a rhythm strip with a fixed routine and name the main rhythm groupsExample: AACN Practice Alert on dysrhythmia monitoring; best practiceWhole course
SO 315.3Recognise a patient who is unstable or in cardiac arrest and call for help under local policy + your infoExamples: AHA/ACLS guidelines; Resuscitation Council UK Advanced Life Support guidelines; best practiceWhole course
SO 315.4Describe preload, afterload, contractility and cardiac output in plain terms and say how trends helpBest practiceWhole course
SO 315.5Monitor a patient on a vasoactive infusion within the prescribed range and know when to stop and call under local policy + your infoBest practiceWhole course

Your part: what a template can't do for you

  • Your workplace details: fill in the 16 highlighted fields so the course describes your own policies, contacts and locations.
  • Records: record completion in your own LMS or record system.

Course outline

6 lessons, about 40 minutes

Minutes per lesson are an estimate, shared out by page count.

ContentInteractiveVideoYou customise
1

Why monitoring skill matters

3 pages

7 min
Before you beginNoteList
Alarm at the end of the bayTextImageChecklistYour info
The patient before the monitorKey factFlashcardsQuiz
2

Set-up, alarms and strip analysis

3 pages

7 min
Set-up and alarmsAccordionYour infoNote
Read a strip in the same orderProcess
Put it in orderSorting activityMatching quiz
3

Unstable rhythms and escalation

3 pages

7 min
Signs of an unstable patientTabsNote
What to do firstProcessYour info
Triage the situationsSorting activity
4

Haemodynamics and invasive monitoring

3 pages

7 min
Four words in plain languageFlashcardsMatching quiz
Arterial and invasive linesAccordionNote
Read the trendScenarioQuiz
5

Infusions, grey areas and speaking up

3 pages

7 min
Vasoactive infusionsProcessNote
ScenarioScenarioYour infoQuiz
Who to tellProcessYour infoYour infoYour infoYour infoNoteButtonYour info
6

Final assessment

2 pages

5 min
PracticeQuiz
CompletionKey factListNoteButtonYour info

Live deck and surveys

10 slides to run live, two surveys to close the loop

Pink slides are interactive. Both surveys are anonymous; pink questions are written for this course.

ContentTitle, agenda, "look at the patient first" (speaker notes: template page URL)
Word cloudOne word for how a monitor alarm makes you feel
PollWhat is hardest for you? (Reading strips · Deciding when to call · Alarm fatigue · Infusion titration)
ContentThe strip routine and the unstable signs in brief
QuizA patient with a changed trace faints. You…" (Call for help and stay ✔ · Record and recheck · Ask a student to watch · Change the leads)
QuizAn alarm sounds. First you…" (Go to the patient ✔ · Silence it · Check notes · Change limits)
Content · customiseCustomise: our alarm policy, arrest call route and titration policy" with {{ALARM_POLICY_LINK}}, {{CARDIAC_ARREST_CALL_ROUTE}}, {{INFUSION_TITRATION_POLICY}}
ScaleHow confident are you reading a rhythm strip in the same order each time?" 1 to 5
Open-ended / Q&AA monitoring situation I would like to talk through
Content · customiseClosing {{CLINICAL_EDUCATION_CONTACT}}, {{SURVEY_2_URL}}, {{COURSE_URL}}
Post-course feedback: 11 questions, about 2 min
  1. Overall rating 5 stars
  2. Relevant, realistic, right length, helpful activities agree/disagree grid
  3. What was most useful? multi-select
  4. Confidence before this course, and now 1-5 scale
  5. How confident are you deciding when to call for help? 1-5 scale
  6. Which change have you tried? multiple choice
  7. What barrier have you met in trying it? short text
  8. I can call for help about a monitored patient without fear of blame. 1-5 scale
  9. One thing we should change or add open text
  10. Would you recommend this course? NPS
30-day check-in
  1. Have you used what you learned since the course? multiple choice
  2. How confident are you today? Compare with day 1 1-5 scale
  3. Do you know where to find the local alarm management policy? yes / no / not sure
  4. A moment where the training helped, or where you weren't sure open text
  5. Which topics should the next refresher focus on? ranking

Results show whether people use the training on the job, not just whether they finished it.

Make it yours

16 fields to fill in, and you're ready

Everything else is done. These are the details only your organisation knows; each one is highlighted inside the course.

  • Clinical education contact{{CLINICAL_EDUCATION_CONTACT}}
  • Local policy link{{LOCAL_POLICY_LINK}}
  • Incident reporting route{{INCIDENT_REPORTING_ROUTE}}
  • Escalation route{{ESCALATION_ROUTE}}
  • Regulator and standards{{REGULATOR_AND_STANDARDS}}
  • LMS or record system{{LMS_OR_RECORD_SYSTEM}}
Show all 16 fields
  • Alarm policy link{{ALARM_POLICY_LINK}}
  • Lead placement guide{{LEAD_PLACEMENT_GUIDE}}
  • Cardiac arrest call route{{CARDIAC_ARREST_CALL_ROUTE}}
  • Invasive monitoring policy{{INVASIVE_MONITORING_POLICY}}
  • Infusion titration policy{{INFUSION_TITRATION_POLICY}}
  • Equipment fault route{{EQUIPMENT_FAULT_ROUTE}}
  • Survey 1 URL{{SURVEY_1_URL}}
  • Survey 2 URL{{SURVEY_2_URL}}
  • Course URL{{COURSE_URL}}
  • Live session URL{{LIVE_SESSION_URL}}

FAQ

Common questions

Can I run cardiac rhythm recognition and haemodynamic monitoring competency for ward and critical care nurses training online?

Yes. The course is self-paced and online, and the live deck lets you add a live session in the room or online.

How often is this training needed?

At induction to a monitored area, when a nurse rotates in, and on the annual skills day.

Who needs this training?

Registered nurses on telemetry, step-down, high dependency, recovery and cardiac wards, and nurses newly rotating into these areas; run by the nurse educator or clinical education lead.

What records should I keep?

Record completion in your own LMS or record system, so you can show who finished the course and when.

Can I edit the content?

Yes, everything. Change the wording, swap scenarios for ones from your workplace, add your logo, or remove parts that don't apply.

Ready to run it?

Open the live deck to see how the session runs alongside the course and both surveys.