Wash your hands and don PPE if appropriate.

Introduce yourself to the patient including your name and role.

Confirm the patient’s name and date of birth.

Briefly explain what the procedure will involve using patient-friendly language: “I need to record an ECG which is an electrical trace of the heart. The procedure will involve placing some sticky pads onto your chest and limbs. I will then connect these sticky pads to the ECG machine’s leads to record the tracing.”

If the patient is a female, explain the need for a chaperone: “One of the female ward staff members will be present throughout the procedure, acting as a chaperone, would that be ok?”

Gain consent to proceed with ECG recording.

Adequately expose the patient’s chest for the procedure (offer a blanket to allow exposure only when required). Exposure of the patient’s lower legs and wrists is also necessary to apply the limb leads.

Ask the patient to lay on the clinical examination couch with the head of the couch at a 45° angle.

Check if the patient has any pain before continuing with the clinical procedure.