About the Course

Join three medical students from one of the UK’s leading medical schools, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, in this course on understanding and interpreting ECGs. Being a key part of the MBBS Year 1 curriculum and a recurring exam topic, any medical student should be able to interpret ECGs quickly and easily. Learn the basic physiology of heart contraction, how to calculate the axis of the heart, how to figure out heart rate and rhythm, and get to grips with some basic pathologies. With this video led course you can learn ECGs in your own time at home or at university and repeat it multiple times to fully absorb the concepts. The course is delivered with enthusiasm in a relaxed manner and will be a reliable revision tool for in-course assessments and finals. 

This year, Medics Academy has supported a Student Selected Component (SSC) at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry. The SSC is to promote medical innovation, entrepreneurship and technology. We have supported second-year medical students to develop a peer-to-peer revision course for first-year medical students. As part of the process, all profits will be donated to a charity that we have previously worked with--StreetDoctors.

About the Authors

Sameer Alam

Sameer Alam is a second year medical student at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry. “The prospect of ever improving technologies excites me. There are many avenues in Medicine where current and future technology including robotics, AI and other more simple forms such as apps and smart programming can help to make a difference in many patients and clinicians lives. My interest in this subject stems from an obsession of science fiction that has stayed with me from when I was a child. I feel that combining medicine with entrepreneurship and innovation opens up a variety of appealing career paths that would be more interesting to me to pursue as opposed to the more conventional route of medical training.”

Christopher Law

Year 2 Medical Student - Barts and The London

Christopher Law is a second year medical student at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry. “Due to my huge interest in entrepreneurship to improve people’s lives, I believe that this SSC will provide a huge insight into the world of business. Furthermore, one of my other passions that I have always been interested in is medical technology. I firmly believe that it will be the way forward and based on the progression of current economy and technology, the shift of healthcare will change drastically over the coming years. I have recently started a student led business that helps to promote the use of green biodegradable products, getting students to throw away waste correctly and spreading the message throughout the university. Our main aim is to reduce carbon footprint and waste management. Whilst not thinking of the next idea, I am also part of the Medtech society at Barts and I am always trying to see where the world of medtech is heading towards too.”

Emmanuel Victor

Emmanuel Victor is a second year medical student at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry. “Whilst I was looking through the SSC choices; medical technology, innovation and entrepreneurship stood out to me because it seemed like something different. I haven’t had any previous experience in the medical technology field however I did participate in the young enterprise scheme when I was in sixth form in which we created a paper recycling company. I really enjoyed the process of starting and developing a business throughout the year and was hoping to gain further insight into how to start a business. I was also hoping to perhaps hear from doctors who had walked away from the clinical side of medicine in order to set up or become part of a business to see what that experience was like and what potential success there is to be gained.”

Course Curriculum

  • 1

    1. Introduction

    • Course overview
  • 2

    2. Principles of ECGs

    • What is the ECG?

    • Placing of ECG leads

    • The position of the leads
  • 3

    3. Electrophysiology

    • Physiology of conduction

    • Phases of the cardiac cycle
  • 4

    4. ECGs

    • Key ECG wave forms

    • Introduction to ECG leads

    • How to read the ECG leads

    • SAIL

    • Interpreting ECGs
  • 5

    5. Axis

    • Axis of the heart

    • How to determine axis deviation
  • 6

    6. Heart Pathologies

    • Cardiac arrhythmia and atrial fibrillation

    • Atrial flutter and ventricular fibrillation
  • 7

    7. Summary

    • Conclusion