Our Hospital uses the vascular access team for all picc blood draws as well as difficult sticks. There are not phlebotomists in the hospital except for out pt testing. While I understand the rationale for us being the ones to draw from picc lines, it doesn't make fiscal sense to me that we are paying nurses to do the hard venipunctures, rather than a dedicated phlebotomy team. This takes a huge amt of our time away from providing early vascular access assessment. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to substantiate this to administration? I've tried a literature search and have been unsuccessful thus far.
On the contrary, I strongly believe that all infusion and vascular access nurses are indeed the exact staff members who should always be involved with PIV insertion in difficult patients. Your skill is far greater than a primary care staff nurse. This means fewer unnecessary attempts, less pain for the patient, less vein wasting/greater vessel preservation, and less supplies used as compared to multiple failed attempts. So in my opinion, you are going in the wrong direction. Your team should be the ones to do these difficult sticks. You can justify a greater amount of time to do these sticks than a non-difficult patient and therefore might be able to justify more staff to meet patient needs. This is the most cost-effective approach in my opinion. Lynn
Lynn Hadaway, M.Ed., RN, NPD-BC, CRNI
Lynn Hadaway Associates, Inc.
PO Box 10
Milner, GA 30257
Website http://www.hadawayassociates.com
Office Phone 770-358-7861
Thanks for responding Lynn. I strongly support our team doing IV lines....I agree with you. My issue with doing phlebotomy are twofold. We are not able to meet the need for providing early and responsive vascular access (i.e. IV's, picc lines, etc.) My opinion is that phlebotomists are just as qualified to do difficult venipunctures, thereby freeing our team for the these other pt. needs. I think it would be more cost effective.
Our vascular access team changes all the picc dressings throughout the hospital and with the excep