Regarding education for a nurse to become competent in PICC line insertion. I am looking into training one of the OP nurses to move over and do PICCs with me. she has been assisting me with line care and maintenance
for several months now and is an experienced nurse.
The class/theory portion of education; does it need to be a live class with simulation or is it ok to take an online course ? I would then follow with a preceptorship of the nurse. I am looking for course in South Florida and am finding alot of places offering the education portion on line.
Thanks, Gina
Online and DVD based courses are an acceptable way to deliver education. But you must ensure the credibility of the course authors. Does the course reference current standards and guidelines from INS, AVA, CDC, SHEA, etc? What are the credentials of the authors? If they have no national certification I would be very wary of that course. What is the experience of the author/instructor with PICC insertion? What content does the course include? Anatomy, physiololgy, infection prevention, ultraound insertion, catheter design, indications, contraindications, patient assessment, nursing care and complications? Is it a totally generic course or does it endorse one brand? Those are just a few questions I would investigate.
Following completion of the course, there needs to be some method for simulation and practice then move on to precepted clinical experience. The electronic delivery of content can focus on knowledge acquisition and critical thinking but can not address performance of psychomotor skills yet. So some method of simulated practice is necessary.
The new SHEA Compendium chapter has an expanded section on Implementataion which includes Education.
Lynn
Lynn Hadaway, M.Ed., RN, BC, CRNI
Lynn Hadaway Associates, Inc.
126 Main Street, PO Box 10
Milner, GA 30257
Website http://www.hadawayassociates.com
Office Phone 770-358-7861