By Wes Tomlinson  

For the Enquirer  

After monitoring nurses and technicians in several healthcare facilities that utilize electrocardiogram monitors, students in Hartselle High’s Medical Academy can now practice what they have learned on a new EKG simulator the school received through a grant last month. 

“I’m pretty sure it’s an atrial flutter,” said Hartselle High senior Maddox Reeves as he monitored a patient’s heart rate through the simulator, his patient being a mannequin and the heart condition one of 16 simulations students can experience. 

There are 25 seniors in the medical academy this year who are working toward their national healthcare certification and six students working toward their patient care technician certification, according to Lynne Shelton, an instructor for the academy. She said obtaining the EKG simulator this school year will assist those students on their path to certification. 

“The last module of their curriculum to prep for the exam is all about EKGs and how to place and acquire an EKG,” Shelton said. “This simulator will simulate a 3-, 4-, 5- and 12-lead EKG, so these students need to learn the difference in all of those.” 

Hartselle High received a $5,000 STEM grant from Tennessee Valley Authority in February, and Shelton said that was the first time she applied for the TVA grant. 

During one of the simulation runs last Friday, Reeves and fellow senior Jack Adams identified a condition known as supraventricular tachycardia, which is a faster than normal heart rate. Reeves began taking classes in the medical academy in the eighth grade and Adams began in the ninth grade. 

“You look at the QRS complex, which is the highest point (on the EKG wave) and it appears to be regular on here,” Adams said. “But you want to check and see if the rate is at the right speed, so if it’s an irregular heartbeat, you would use the six-second strip. You then count the number of QRS complexes in those six seconds and you multiply by 10.” 

By doing this, Adams can calculate the number of heart beats per minute, and in that instance, he counted 188 beats per minute. 

“Anything above 180 is considered supraventricular tachycardia,” Adams said. “A normal heart rate is between 60 to 100 beats per minute.” 

Reeves said taking medical coursework in the academy each year has inspired him to pursue a career in health and medicine. This year, he has done clinical rotations at Cullman Regional Hospital and Decatur Morgan Hospital as well as shadow physical therapists at ATI Physical Therapy in Decatur. 

“I’ve also done some ride-alongs with Lifeguard EMS ambulance services in Hartselle,” Reeves said. 

Adams said he has done clinical rotations at Lifework Physical Therapy in Hartselle and several area pediatrician offices. He said after obtaining his certifications, he plans on getting a part-time job in healthcare this summer. 

“I’m going to college at Auburn University for pre-med, so hopefully I can get a job at a hospital down there this summer,” Adams said. 

Reeves said he will attend Troy University during the fall where he will major in nursing and desires to become a trauma nurse, working in emergency rooms. 

“They’ve got a regional hospital down there, so I’m just doing this so if wanted to work part-time down there as an EKG technician, I could,” Reeves said. “I’ve heard that if you haven’t experienced medical coursework in high school, you’re going to struggle in college so I feel pretty comfortable about going to Troy and being ahead of some students.”