This is one of the frequent question I get when I am teaching a peripheral IV class. Of course, I have an answer (and opinion – no surprise there..:-) ) but before I share mine, please take this very short poll and let me know what you do or what you think.
The poll will close at the end of May and the discussion/results will be posted shortly after. Thank you so much and please RT to share!
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Filed under Certified Nurses, Cora Vizcarra, CRNI, Infusion Nurse Chat, Infusion Nursing, Infusion Nursing Standards of Practice, InfusionNurse, IV, IV start, IVchat, Medical bloggers, Nursing, Nursing blogs, Vein detecting devices, Venipuncture
After a week of celebrating our profession comes the day we celebrate our mothers. May 13 is Mother’s Day! Unless you live under a rock, there’s no way one would forget this special day, thanks to all the commercials on TV!
This particular commercial caught my attention..
I know we can all relate to this. I for one, clearly remember being that child awakened by my mother so I wont be late for school and other activities I had to do. At that time, I didn’t appreciate it, I’d rather sleep longer and mumbled as I got out of bed. I may not be the olympic athlete portrayed in that commercial but now that I am older, I know much of what I have become was because of my mother, her enthusiasm, patience, love and perseverance. My mother was not a nurse, but she wanted me to be one because she believed in this noble profession.
“Every successful child is the product of an enthusiastic mother.”
On this Mother’s Day, don’t forget….let’s celebrate the one special woman in our lives who had the vision, love, enthusiasm, perseverance and patience to get us to where we are now.
Thank you Mom… and to all the mother’s out there….Happy Mother’s Day!!
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Filed under Cora Vizcarra, Infusion Nursing, InfusionNurse, IV, Medical bloggers, Nursing blogs
At each INS Annual Meeting, I am always looking forward to the exhibit hall. The exhibit hall was huge and to see every booths and exhibits, one needs a strategy to get through without missing any booth or presentation. My strategy is simple and that is…. to go down the numbered aisles and look around for those vendors on my list first, then visit those not on my list next. I am very grateful to all the vendors who were there whether they had something new to show or not because their products contribute greatly to patient care and safety. Their willingness to educate nurses is always appreciated.
Just like last year after the convention, I will highlight a few products. Again, as I always do, here’s my disclaimer - there were many different products represented there and as the owner of this blog, I reserve the right to point out the ones that caught my attention. For disclosure purposes, I was not paid to write this post and have no relationship whatsoever with these companies, nor am I endorsing the products. This is my blog, my opinions and not of the Infusion Nurses Society and is just FYI.
One other important point I need to mention before purchasing a vein detecting device is to understand the type the “training” or inservice” provided by the vendor. Many vendors will say they will provide training, only to find out that it just a hour or two inservice per device. Will that is not enough if you have several nurses who will be using the device?
Photo from INS Website / RichSchmittPhotography
I have always enjoyed the exhibit hall at any conference. It is good to know the different products and choices available so one can make an informed decision based on the products themselves.
I am back (and survived) after a long week in Vegas attending the INS 2012 annual meeting. Although it was exhausting, one can’t say they didn’t learn anything, The week was packed with educational sessions that focused on may different core aspects of infusion nursing. There was something for everyone who attended – from first time attendees to veteran infusion nurses like myself and exhibit vendors/manufacturers.
Evolving our Legacy was the presidential theme of INS president and a long time colleague, Dr. Jeannette Adams. Her accomplishments as president were presented during the opening session and her presidency was celebrated during a dinner in her honor. Congrats to Jeannette for a job well done!
The educational sessions were very well planned and organized, thanks to the National Council on Education (NCOE). There were great speakers who presented current and interesting topics related to our specialty. This year, there was an international track showcasing how infusion therapy is practiced in other countries as well as a homecare track focusing on home infusion therapy. The abstracts and posters were as always outstanding! The keynote speaker, Chef Jeff Henderson, who went from being a drug dealer ex-convict to a celebrity chef at the Bellagio..was inspiring! And of course, who wouldn’t want an early morning serenade from the Rat Pack?
The exhibit hall was packed with vendors and manufacturers eager to showcase their latest and greatest products and devices and who hopefully benefited from the time allocated just for exhibits. From 10am-2pm Monday – Wednesday, attendees had the time to be in the exhibit hall to view vendor/manufacturers exhibits/booths; poster presentations, exhibitor theaters, and simulation labs. Although it seem like a lot of time, when fully engaged in these activities, 12 hours doesn’t seem to be enough.
Vegas is always a popular place for conventions and meetings. It is full of fun and entertainment, which after a long day of lectures and exhibits, is a good thing to do with family and friends. I like Vegas but what I didn’t enjoy was the smoke filled casino I have to pass every day to get to the convention center. I get it, most hotels and casinos in Vegas are that way -they still allow smoking but somehow they manage to diminish the smell so it’s not offensive, thus pleasing both guests who are smokers and non-smokers. Our host hotel didnt quite live up to that and my room wouldn’t pass a board of health inspection (yeah, I’m lucky that way!).
Another annual meeting well done!! As the saying goes..”What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas… not with this year’s INS meeting!! I took it home!
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Filed under Continuing nursing education, Cora Vizcarra, Infusion Nurse Chat, Infusion Nursing, Infusion Therapy Resources and References, InfusionNurse, IV, IVchat, Medical bloggers, Nursing, Nursing blogs
Today, we celebrate National Nurses Day to honor the 3.1 million registered nurses in the United States. According to the American Nurses Association:
- There are 2.6 million licensed registered nurses employed in nursing
- 62.2% of employed RNs work in hospitals
- The average age of employed RNs is 45.5 years
- 45% of RNs are age 50 or older
- 16.8 percent are male RNs
- There are 250,527 RNs prepared as APRNs – 62% are NPs
- 50% of RNs have bachelor’s degree or higher
- 13.2% of RNs have a master’s or doctoral degree
- Average annual salary for RNS (2008) was $66,973
- Projected job growth in nursing, 2008-2018 is 581,500 j0bs
- Projected % growth in nursing employment, 2008-2018 is 22%
- Projected shortage of nurses to meet healthcare demands by 2025 – 260,000
This day also marks the beginning of National Nurses Week, which ends on May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale. What a remarkable woman who had, in those days, such foresight and somewhat radical views on nursing, and medical practice. It is amazing that today, most of her notes still applies. Recently, a colleague showed this statement Florence Nightingale wrote in 1867 – her thoughts on what is now home healthcare.
“my view you know is that the ultimate destination is the nursing of the sick in their own homes. … I look to the abolition of all hospitals and workhouse infirmaries. But it is no use to talk about the year 2000.”
To all my nursing colleagues…Happy Nurses Day!! I am so proud and honored to be part of this noble profession. While there are many ways to show appreciation on this special day, a simple “thank you” goes a long way!
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Filed under Certified Nurses, Cora Vizcarra, Infusion Nurse Chat, Infusion Nursing, InfusionNurse, IV, Medical bloggers, Nursing, Nursing blogs, State Board Of Nursing
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has scheduled another National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day which will take place on Saturday, April 28, 2012, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. This is a great opportunity for those who missed the previous 3 events, or who have subsequently accumulated unwanted, unused prescription drugs, to safely dispose of those medications.
Let’s remind our patient’s family members to take advantage of this program. It might be a good time to clear out our own medicine cabinets for expired or unused medications.
To find a location near you - click here
Read related blog post about medication disposal – Do You Flush?
can lead to a lawsuit!!
Yes, according to a news article, a medical malpractice lawsuit filed late last month accuses nurses and health care providers of negligence by giving the patient “an IV tainted with streptococcus pyogenes” — bacteria commonly associated with strep throat. Click here for more info.
The harm – following the removal of the IV catheter, plaintiff’s arm became severely red, tender, and swollen at her IV site, and she was readmitted to the hospital on April 2, 2010, the complaint states. “Blood cultures taken from the plaintiff revealed that the plaintiff’s blood was positive for streptococcus pyrogenes. ”Due to the infection in her blood acquired, the plaintiff underwent, among other procedures, a right knee aspiration and washout, a venectomy of her cephalic vein from her shoulder to below her antecubital fossa, as well as the placement of a subclavian catheter for long-term antibiotic infusion,”
The lawsuit - The first count of the malpractice suit claims the hospital owed a duty to provide the plaintiff with “clean, bacteria free medical equipment, such as IV needles, catheters, and medications,” as well as “a clean environment where simple procedures … may take place without unreasonable risk of an easily avoidable infection.” The complaint claims the hospital breached the standard of care by providing the plaintiff with an IV tainted with streptococcus pyogenes, failing to ensure proper infectious disease controls were implemented, enforced and adhered to, nor made sure employees involved in the patient’s care wore gloves, masks or washed their hands.
I agree – we don’t really know the whole story about this case and the details about the patient’s IV access but the complaint identifies hospital workers who “handled, flushed, injected fluids into, or otherwise specifically acted in some way upon the plaintiff’s IV site which became infected during her stay between March 28 and March 31, 2010. Yup, this could happen and could involve anyone of us… although none of us would deliberately do “anything” to intentionally harm a patient or compromise the patient’s venous access.
So what do we remember about Streptoccocus pyogenes? (From Todar’s Online Textbook of Bacteriology)
It is very unfortunate this happened to this patient and it would be interesting to know the outcome of this case. What I do know and believe is – no nurse or healthcare worker would intentionally cause harm to a patient. With our vigilance in implementing and adhering to infection control practices, we will continue to protect our patient’s safety.
