Top 12 ER Technician Skills to Put on Your Resume

Crafting a standout resume as an ER Technician means showing off equal parts technical grit and calm, human-centered care. Emergency rooms move fast, flip directions, and test your reflexes. When you highlight the right skills, you signal that you can keep patients safe, support the team, and act decisively when seconds get tight.

ER Technician Skills

1. ACLS Certification
2. PALS Certification
3. EKG Interpretation
4. Phlebotomy
5. Triage Assessment
6. IV Insertion
7. Wound Care
8. CPR Certified
9. BLS Certification
10. Patient Monitoring
11. Emergency Protocols
12. Medical Charting

1. ACLS Certification

ACLS (Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support) builds on basic resuscitation skills with advanced algorithms for cardiac arrest, acute coronary syndromes, stroke, and peri-arrest rhythms. For ER Technicians, requirements vary by hospital and state scope; when permitted and required, ACLS adds depth to your emergency response toolkit.

Why It's Important

In departments that allow it within role and policy, ACLS helps you recognize lethal rhythms, coordinate code responses, and support advanced interventions—speeding decisive care when outcomes hinge on minutes.

How to Improve ACLS Certification Skills

1. Revisit current guidelines regularly; note focused updates and algorithm changes.
2. Drill megacode scenarios with a team, not just solo—closed-loop communication matters.
3. Practice rhythm recognition daily; quick, reliable reads beat guesswork.
4. Run timed simulations that include airway, defib, meds, and post-ROSC care.
5. After each mock or real event, debrief fast and honestly; capture one improvement to apply next time.

Consistency under stress comes from repetition, feedback, and keeping the playbook fresh.

How to Display ACLS Certification Skills on Your Resume

2. PALS Certification

PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support) focuses on stabilizing infants and children in respiratory failure, shock, and cardiac emergencies. It sharpens pediatric assessment and intervention skills specific to smaller bodies with different normals.

Why It's Important

When your ED treats kids—or floats staff to pediatric areas—PALS helps you spot decompensation early, anticipate equipment sizes, and move cleanly through pediatric algorithms.

How to Improve PALS Certification Skills

1. Review pediatric normal ranges by age; memorize weight-based dosing strategies.
2. Practice hands-on simulations with pediatric manikins: airway positioning, IO access, defibrillation, and team roles.
3. Rehearse pediatric assessment triangles—appearance, work of breathing, circulation.
4. Build quick-reference cards you can actually use under pressure.
5. Refresh before certification lapses; short, frequent drills keep skills sticky.

How to Display PALS Certification Skills on Your Resume

3. EKG Interpretation

EKG/ECG interpretation means decoding the heart’s electrical story: rate, rhythm, axis, intervals, ischemia, injury, and infarct patterns. In the ER, you need quick pattern recognition and a disciplined approach so nothing hides in plain sight.

Why It's Important

Fast, accurate reads change the trajectory—door-to-needle, door-to-balloon, antiarrhythmic vs. electricity. Miss less. Treat sooner.

How to Improve EKG Interpretation Skills

1. Use one method every time: rate → rhythm → axis → intervals → hypertrophy → ST/T changes.
2. Read rhythm strips daily; build a library of classics and zebras.
3. Pair EKGs with clinical context; correlate with troponin, symptoms, and vitals.
4. Time yourself; aim for confident triage reads in under 60 seconds.
5. Discuss tricky tracings with experienced colleagues; short case huddles pay off.
6. Revisit pitfalls: posterior MI, hyperkalemia, paced rhythms, SVT vs. VT criteria.

How to Display EKG Interpretation Skills on Your Resume

4. Phlebotomy

Phlebotomy is safe, efficient venipuncture for labs, blood cultures, and transfusion prep. Smooth technique, minimal discomfort, clean labels, zero contamination—that’s the standard.

Why It's Important

Labs drive diagnoses and disposition. One solid stick can shave precious minutes off care.

How to Improve Phlebotomy Skills

1. Practice on task trainers, then progress with supervision; refine angle, depth, and hand stabilization.
2. Master order of draw and specimen handling to prevent hemolysis and skewed results.
3. Communicate before you poke; reduce anxiety and movement, improve success rates.
4. Follow bloodborne pathogen and sharps safety protocols without shortcuts.
5. Track your first-attempt success rate and complication trends; adjust technique based on data.

How to Display Phlebotomy Skills on Your Resume

5. Triage Assessment

Triage sorts patients by urgency using symptoms, vital signs, mechanisms, and risk factors. It keeps the sickest from waiting while the department stays orderly under pressure.

Why It's Important

Right patient, right priority, right now. Good triage prevents silent deterioration and keeps flow moving.

How to Improve Triage Assessment Skills

1. Use a structured scale consistently (per facility policy) and document objective criteria.
2. Refine rapid assessment: airway, breathing, circulation, disability, exposure—under two minutes.
3. Hone communication: brief, precise handoffs and clear patient instructions.
4. Run scenario drills that stress-test judgment—chest pain vs. abd pain vs. multi-injury arrivals.
5. Reassess in the waiting area; vitals and status change, priorities shift.
6. Request feedback on difficult calls; compare your triage level to outcomes.

How to Display Triage Assessment Skills on Your Resume

6. IV Insertion

IV insertion places a catheter into a vein for fluids, meds, or blood draws. Scope for ER Technicians varies by state and facility policy; where permitted, this is a core procedural skill.

Why It's Important

Direct access unlocks resuscitation: fluids, analgesia, antibiotics, pressors, contrast. Seconds saved, care accelerated.

How to Improve IV Insertion Skills

1. Study vein anatomy and selection strategy; start distal, choose the largest appropriate, avoid flex points.
2. Perfect the basics: tourniquet placement, skin traction, low entry angle, advance gently after flash.
3. Use ultrasound guidance when available for difficult access; practice probe handling and needle visualization.
4. Stabilize and secure well; prevent dislodgement and infiltration.
5. Maintain strict asepsis and follow infiltration/extravasation protocols without delay.
6. Log attempts, success rates, and complications; target weak spots deliberately.

How to Display IV Insertion Skills on Your Resume

7. Wound Care

Wound care in the ER means assessing mechanism and depth, cleaning and irrigating, controlling bleeding, selecting dressings, and educating for home care. ER Technicians typically prepare the field, manage irrigation, apply closures within policy (e.g., adhesive strips, tissue adhesive, or staples if allowed), and assist clinicians with suturing rather than independently suturing.

Why It's Important

Clean technique, the right closure, the right dressing—less infection, better function, cleaner scars.

How to Improve Wound Care Skills

1. Drill aseptic setup and efficient instrument handling; reduce contamination risk.
2. Match dressing to wound: moisture balance, exudate control, and protection.
3. Irrigate effectively; volume and pressure matter more than exotic solutions.
4. Recognize red flags: compartment risk, tendon injury, neurovascular compromise, bites, contamination.
5. Give crisp discharge instructions—return precautions, dressing changes, analgesia, tetanus and follow-up.

How to Display Wound Care Skills on Your Resume

8. CPR Certified

CPR certification confirms competence in high-quality chest compressions, ventilations, and AED use. In healthcare roles, this is typically covered within BLS.

Why It's Important

When a patient loses pulses, high-quality CPR is the bridge to everything else. Depth, rate, recoil, minimal pauses—done right, it saves lives.

How to Improve CPR Certified Skills

1. Refresh frequently on manikins with feedback devices; aim for objective targets.
2. Practice team codes emphasizing role clarity and minimal interruptions.
3. Rehearse special situations: opioid overdose, pregnancy, hypothermia, trauma.
4. Stay current with guideline updates and local protocols.
5. Pair CPR with rapid defibrillation drills; shave seconds from time-to-shock.

How to Display CPR Certified Skills on Your Resume

9. BLS Certification

BLS (Basic Life Support) confirms proficiency in adult, child, and infant CPR, AED use, and relief of choking, with an emphasis on team dynamics in clinical settings.

Why It's Important

BLS is the baseline requirement across emergency care. It anchors every resuscitation, long before advanced measures arrive.

How to Improve BLS Certification Skills

1. Train with real-time feedback devices to hardwire correct compression metrics.
2. Rotate through team roles during mock codes; learn to anticipate the next step.
3. Integrate bag-mask ventilation practice; seal and volume control beat guesswork.
4. Review updates before renewal cycles; incorporate changes immediately.
5. Debrief after real events; convert lessons learned into concrete habits.

How to Display BLS Certification Skills on Your Resume

10. Patient Monitoring

Patient monitoring pulls vital signs, telemetry, pulse oximetry, pain scores, neuro checks, and clinical observations into a live picture you can act on quickly.

Why It's Important

Trends tell the real story. Subtle drops in perfusion or oxygenation are a chance to intervene before a crash.

How to Improve Patient Monitoring Skills

1. Standardize frequency and escalation thresholds; know when a number demands action.
2. Verify alarms are appropriate and audible; avoid alarm fatigue by tailoring limits to patients.
3. Document clearly and on time; charting delays hide deterioration.
4. Cross-check devices with clinical exam—don’t let the monitor overrule your eyes.
5. Tighten handoffs: concise, relevant changes and trends, not just snapshots.

How to Display Patient Monitoring Skills on Your Resume

11. Emergency Protocols

Emergency protocols are standardized steps for time-critical problems—stroke, STEMI, sepsis, trauma, behavioral crises, OB emergencies—so teams act in sync without hesitation.

Why It's Important

Shared mental models slash delays. The right activation at the right moment mobilizes people, space, and equipment instantly.

How to Improve Emergency Protocols Skills

1. Memorize activation criteria and first actions; keep quick-reference tools handy.
2. Run interprofessional simulations to stress-test communication and role clarity.
3. Audit door-to-treatment intervals and identify bottlenecks you can influence.
4. Offer rapid feedback after real activations; capture one fix, implement it.
5. Protect team well-being; debrief tough cases and normalize support-seeking.

How to Display Emergency Protocols Skills on Your Resume

12. Medical Charting

Medical charting captures the who, what, when, and why of care—vital signs, symptoms, interventions, responses, patient education, and disposition—clearly and legally.

Why It's Important

Good documentation supports safe handoffs, defensible care, quality metrics, and clean billing. If it isn’t charted, it’s hard to prove it happened.

How to Improve Medical Charting Skills

1. Use standardized templates and smart phrases wisely; don’t let speed erode accuracy.
2. Chart close to real time; memory fades quickly in a busy ED.
3. Be objective and specific—numbers, times, responses, patient quotes when relevant.
4. Protect privacy and follow HIPAA and facility policy without exception.
5. Invite peer review; small wording tweaks can prevent big misunderstandings.

How to Display Medical Charting Skills on Your Resume