This is the title of an article from the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA) posted by my twitter colleague @chemosabe from Australia. Design/Setting: A prospective study in a tertiary hospital to collect and analyse reusable venesection tourniquets for the presence of MROs —methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), and extended-spectrum β-lactamase and metallo-β- lactamase-producing…
Time flies when you’re having fun!!! This week, the Infusion Nurse Blog is celebrating its two year blog anniversary!!! *throws confetti* As I said before and again this year, sometimes I still feel like I don’t have anything interesting to blog about. But I am very encouraged, grateful and honored because you have continued to…
Most of the comments or questions I get are from readers who are nursing colleagues. Occasionally, I get comments from readers who are infusion patients. This one comment stood out…. I go to an infusion center every two months for several years now to receive my infusions. It is a very busy infusion center and…
One of the FAQ I get is this…. Q: Should you or should you not clean the top of vials after you just removed the protective lid? A: Yes, clean(wipe) the vial diaphragm even if you just flipped the lid off is the answer I give. Then I get this “deer in the headlight” look.…
In response to a question from a former ER nurse who now works for a physician office providing infusion services, I came upon this guide from the CDC. The question is why should infection control practices in a physician’s office differ from those in the hospital? In particular, this nurse was appalled that the physician…
You just started a PIV in the patient’s right arm and soon after, the patient complained of sharp pain and ask that the PIV be removed. What would you do? Leave PIV in and tell patient,of course it will hurt, I just stuck you with a needle Assess the IV site and if no redness…
As most of you would have done, you would have dissected the word and noted the “phobia” part of the term. Yes, it is a fear of something. But before I say what it is, allow me to tell you how I came upon this word. On a busy day at the infusion center, I…
…those vascular access devices? Of course… all nurses who care for vascular access devices (VAD) should, right?? …. but do they ” flush and lock” or ” flush” only thinking that flushing is enough to keep the VAD patent? The 2011 Infusion Nursing standards of practice makes this distinction…. “Flushing” – the act of moving…
I am back from the INS 2011 meeting in Louisville and 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. The exhibit hall was packed with vendors and manufacturers eager to showcase their latest and greatest…
Last February 2010, I wrote a blog when I observed some nurses re-using syringes. I couldn’t believe that a nurse would actually re-use a syringe but it happened and I was there to see it. Here’s my blog post in case you missed it…“Single Use Only” I wanted to believe that it was an isolated…
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