What is the reccomended length of time of orientation that should occur for a nurse, that is new to placing picc lines, and will be trained on ultrasound guidance, sherlock, and ecg tip confirmation?
What is the reccomended length of time of orientation that should occur for a nurse, that is new to placing picc lines, and will be trained on ultrasound guidance, sherlock, and ecg tip confirmation?
The process needed for this new person to become competent with these procedures is not an "orientation". That word is reserved for staff new to a facility or organization. A professional beginning to place PICCs, regardless of the technology being used, should attend a continuing education class. This can be in a traditional classroom, online, or through some distance learning process, but the content should include anatomy, physiology, infection prevention, insertion techniques, application of all the technology, care and maintenance, complication prevention and management. This process should include some form to practice insertions with the equipment in a simulated environment. Please take note that this should never be insertion into a healthy volunteers! Then there should be a period of supervised clinical practice. This usually includes assisting with placement, then supervised insertions, followed by a specified number of successful complete insertions. Your facility defines who will be the preceptor, what is considered a "successful" insertion, and the specific number of successful insertions required to attain initial competency. This is a process and it can take a relatively long time. It is not going to happen in a very hours of practice or even a few days. To access educational resources, I would begin with the product manufacturers. Many of them have this education process available to their customers. Please note that this is definitely more than product training and these educational processes are not a commercial for the products. You can access education companies that sell online and computer based educational offerings such as PICC Excellence. 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
Thank you Lynn for the information. I will pass this on to my manager.
Carol
Carol Busch RN,VA-BC, CPUI
PICC/Vascular Access Nurse
We are going to begin training for this system soon. I am looking forward to it.
Beth George, CRNI, VA-BC
Nurse Clinician/Vascular Access
UAB Medicine
Birmingham, AL
Lynn's comments are excellent
As an add-on I have found training to also be dependent on the learner
Some individuals can utilize past experiences and their training is faster whereas others take a while longer
It may take 5 lines, 10 lines and sometimes greater than 25 lines depending on the individual. Setting minimums is a good idea but one must consider that maximums may be needed wiith some individuals. It is a case by case basis
Kathy Kokotis RN BS MBA
Bard Access Systems