MAY: reasons to celebrate

There’s a lot of reasons to love the month of May. The weather is warmer, flowers begin to burst into bloom and here are a few occasions to celebrate this month. 1. National Nurses Day is May 6 ,a day to honor the 3.1 million registered nurses in the United States. This year’s theme is:…

Q&A: Bevel up or down

I am always delighted to get IV questions from colleagues on social networks. Occasionally, I post them on this blog in the spirit of learning. Here’s one on IV needle insertion. Q: Tell me do you insert a needle up or down? A: I am assuming the question you are asking pertains to the bevel…

Q&A: Syringe re-use

I get questions from colleagues on social networks, while I don’t post all of the questions , there are times when I do post for learning purposes. Here’s one on “syringe re-use”. Q: It boggles my mind, how someone highly trained, a nurse, can use a single use syringe  over and over and sometimes on multiple patients.…

IV manual flow regulators

These are devices designed to regulate the flow of fluid instead of using the roller clamp on the IV tubing. IV manual flow regulators are either part of the IV tubing or added on. Since these are regulated manually, these flow regulators are not “infusion pumps”. It does not function like electronic infusion pumps and…

PIV Catheter Gauge selection

The goal when selecting the proper gauge of an peripheral IV catheter is to ensure that the best device meets the patient’s needs.  This means taking into consideration many factors such as: Prescribed therapy/type of solution Duration of treatment Peripheral vein availability/vein integrity Diagnosis /Age Known complications of the device The Infusion Nurses Society standards of practice states…

Today’s inspiration…

In case you missed it just like I did, spare a few minutes and watch this short video on how a 15 year old  freshman in high school developed a paper sensor that could detect pancreatic, ovarian and lung cancer in five minutes for as little as 3 cents.     There is hope in the…

Celebrate March 19 Certified Nurses Day

A registered nurse (RN) license allows nurses to practice. Certification affirms advanced knowledge, skill, and practice to meet the challenges of modern nursing.Certification is a profession’s official recognition of achievement, expertise, and clinical judgment. It is a mark of excellence that requires continued learning and skill development to maintain. Today is a day to recognize board…

RNs mixing IV medications

A nurse colleague started a new job as an infusion nurse for a physician office based practice offering infusion services (non chemo) to their patients. After a few days, the nurse left the new job for the following reasons:  Another RN in the office routinely mixes IV medication for the infusion nurses to administer. The IV medication…

In case you are the IV patient…

I have now confirmed my blog readers are not only healthcare providers but are ‘actual’ patients. I get questions/emails/comments from them and they made it known to me that they are watching and noticing what we do to their venous access!!  LOL.. So in the spirit of sharing and learning, without revealing anything about them,…

Q&A – Implanted Venous Ports

Recently, I have had a few questions regarding implanted ports so I decided to post it here in the spirit of sharing and learning . Q:  A patient asked:  why is it that sometimes my nurse wears a mask to access my port and sometimes they don’t? Should they or should they not wear a…