hello,
I was wondering if in your facility, when caring for patient going home on intravenous therapy, you train the patient on how to check for blood return and what instructions are given to the patient if a withdrawl occlusion occurs.
Personnaly, I select the patients (based on their learning capabilities, their skills, how stress they are and how comfortable they are) that I train. I would say that when I am not teaching, I am expecting the nurse who will be changing the injection cap and the dressing to check for blood return and act accordingly.
Should I revise my training to make sure every patient check their own blood return before administering their antibiotic and ask them to come to the hospital if they have a partial occlusion?
Thank you for sharing your experience,
France
I think your education should include creating the expectation for the patient that someone should verify blood return prior to use and what they should expect to see when it is done. The same can be said of hub scrubbiing and sterile dressing changes. If they will be doing their own infusions the home care nurse can help them with practice at the techniques, but they should know what should and should not be done with their line. I give them my business card and tell them to call me if the providers in the community are not meeting the expectations that they have been given. It is the best way to do community outreach about IV practices. I get frequent calls with questions from providers about situations they have not experienced. They are grateful to be able to improve their practice and avoid their patients being re-admitted to the hospital.
Daniel Juckette RN, CCRN, VA-BC