BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Med.
Sec. Healthcare Professions Education
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1643572
A novel training program to enhance paramedics' electrocardiogram interpretation skills: Pre-post evaluation
Provisionally accepted
Keita Iyama1*
Ryohei Akashi1Makoto Yokoyama1Tomoharu Honda1Kenichiro Maekawa2Komei Miyamoto1Satsuki Tomonaga1Soichi Karatsu3Yu Ikeda3Kensho Baba4Koichi Hayakawa1,3Osamu Tasaki1- 1Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan
- 2Nagasaki-shi, Nagasaki, Japan
- 3Nagasaki Minato Medical Center Shimin Byoin, Nagasaki, Japan
- 4Miyazaki Medical Association Hospital, Miyazaki, Japan
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Early intervention is critical for improving outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS); thus, reducing prehospital duration is essential. Accordingly, 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) training is vital for paramedics treating patients with chest pain. However, few studies have reported on such training programs. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a newly developed 12-lead ECG training program.The novel 12-lead ECG training course consisted of six 30-min classroom lectures and practical exercises using eight case scenarios of patients with chest pain. It was conducted for 58 paramedics in Nagasaki Prefecture. Participants completed a 20-question ECG test and a 10-pointscale questionnaire before and after the training to assess the course's impact.The median number of correct answers on the ECG test significantly improved from 12.5 to 15 after the training (p < 0.01). Questionnaire results revealed that anxiety regarding 12-lead ECGs significantly declined from 8.5 to 6 points (p < 0.01), whereas confidence significantly increased from 3 to 6 points (p < 0.01). The ability to predict ischemic regions using 12-lead ECG rose from 5 to 7 points (p < 0.01), and accurate communication of ECG findings to receiving hospitals significantly improved from 5 to 6 points (p < 0.01). All participants reported that this training program would benefit their future fieldwork.Paramedics gained confidence and knowledge through the newly developed 12-lead ECG training program. Continued implementation of this course may help reduce prehospital duration and improve outcomes in patients with ACS in the study region.
Keywords: Chest Pain, Education, Electrocardiography, Emergency Medical Services, Inservice Training, training course
Received: 14 Jun 2025; Accepted: 09 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Iyama, Akashi, Yokoyama, Honda, Maekawa, Miyamoto, Tomonaga, Karatsu, Ikeda, Baba, Hayakawa and Tasaki. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Keita Iyama, Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.