..…if patients offer their antecubital fossa to you for an IV start. Sad but true, many patients do not understand the difference between blood draw and starting a peripheral IV. We, as registered nurses should understand the difference and know that starting an IV in the antecubital fossa is not good practice. The antecubital fossa…
….patient safety is not recession proof!! I use to think that professionals in the business of taking care of the sick are not affected by the economic downturns. While healthcare may experience the impact much later than most businesses, the survey conducted by ISMP has shown the trickle effects of the recession in our industry…
This is a follow-up to my previous post “When an infusion nurse gets an IV”. Many have asked about what “phlebitis grade 2” meant. Phlebitis is defined as the inflammation of the vein and is considered an adverse patient outcome. The Infusion Nurses Society’s infusion nursing standards of practice (2006) provides a uniform standard scale…
It is not easy when a nurse is on the receiving end as the patient. Today I had an IV started in my right forearm for an outpatient procedure. Nothing serious, just a screening procedure highly recommended when one reaches a certain birth number. I was a bit anxious but when the pre-op nurse started…
..unused or expired medications down the toilet? When I worked as a home infusion nurse a few years ago, I remember instructing our homecare patients to flush unused medications. I too have flushed expired medications at home while cleaning out my medicine cabinet. I was always under the impression, that flushing down the toilet or…
A common question I get asked and recently, a comment was posted here by Lori. “I am a CRNI working in a hospital. I am the first CRNI they have had and I am also the ONcology Coordinator. I have been updating many policies. I am having trouble finding info to back up the need…
A draft of the CDC “Guidelines for the Prevention of Intravascular Catheter-Related Infections” is available for review. Click here to view the draft. I know we all have our opinions, so here’s our chance to review the draft and provide our comments. E-mail your comments to bsi@cdc.gov or mail to CDC, Div. of Healthcare Quality…
I know, this may come as a surprise to my nursing colleagues, but the truth is, I have seen many nurses (even those highly trained and specialized) both in hospitals and outpatient settings, use an alcohol swab over and over…while still wet. Imagine this scenario where a nurse is ready to withdraw medication from several…
Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters (PICCs) can be inserted by qualified registered nurses and since PICCs are central lines, the distal tip placement must be verified by chest x-ray and read by a physician prior to its use. Qualified RN’s have been placing PICCs since the early 80’s. Recently in certain parts of the country, their…
A nurse colleague on twitter asked me for tips on starting IV’s in pudgy toddlers. This tweet was followed by another, stating “I have trouble with pudgy at any age”. Yes, I agree. Even to the most experience infusion nurse, pudgy is always a challenge and usually means no chance of finding veins or easy…
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