Q: The standards state that a new VAD should be used with each attempt. My question is what defines a second attempt when inserting a PICC. For example if you have a sterile field set up and you have tried to insert the catheter at one site and you move to a more proximal site on…
Yeah, this post is about gloves. I’m going to revisit this…not wearing gloves when starting a peripheral IV.. Then there’s the extreme, when healthcare providers wear gloves for everything like taking your blood pressure and temperature!! (save this for another time) We should all know about Universal Precautions, right? It has been around since 1983,…
Q: I saw the practice recommendation to limit tourniquet time to less than 1 minute when drawing blood to reduce hemolysis and inaccurate chemistry lab values. Once we stick and get a blood return, we wait till we’ve collected all our blood samples before we release the tourniquet and apply the dressing to the IV…
A patient recently told me that she has bad veins and expect to be stuck numerous times for a peripheral IV insertion. I asked her how many times did the nurses stick her before they got an peripheral IV ? She replied: Oh, “it depends on the nurse but they keep sticking me till they get…
Q: I am a registered nurse working in a physician owned infusion center. We work very closely with the physician and if the patient needs IV therapy, the doctor tells me what IV and meds to give, then I start the infusion, He writes what he wants given in his progress notes. Is there a…
Greetings my dear colleagues!! I recently recorded a short podcast with the Infusion Nurses Society and is now available on line. Hope you’ll find a few minutes to listen in. Thanks! Recommendations for Improving Safety Practices with Short Peripheral Catheters Despite the frequent use of short peripheral catheters (SPCs) in all health care settings, education…
Lately I’ve seen increasing news about IVtherapy services on several social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. Look it up using the hashtag #ivtherapy. You might be surprised to find many celebrities, athletes, models, general public and advertisements talking about getting IVtherapy, not because they are ill but for “out of the box” reasons like,…
Q: Can a nurse ever draw blood from a PIV after it has been in situ? Or should that only be done at the time of insertion? A: Yes, a nurse can draw blood from an existing peripheral IV and at the time of insertion. But as simple as it sounds, there are several factors…
If you are a registered nurse currently working with/delegating/supervising “unlicensed healthcare personnel” (UHCP) also known as “unlicensed assistive personnel” (UAP), would you be interested in answering a short survey related to the use of unlicensed healthcare personnel in the provision of infusion therapy? The survey is open to US registered nurses from all healthcare settings who work…
Q: I am a new RN and was always told that I can use a BP cuff to distend the veins for IV starts instead of a tourniquet. Can you tell me how high should I pump the cuff? A: BP cuff is one method that can be used for vein distention while assessing veins…
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