Iv starts for CT and MRI

Specialties Radiology

Published

Specializes in Critical Care.

Recently started new role in Radiology Dept. after 26 yrs Critical Care- Love the Job but the "Learning Curve" can be difficult when you have been in your comfort zone for a long time. Still trying to get used to the outpatient reqiurements. So the CT techs want me to start all IV's which I don't have a problem with but I do it per our hospital policy- with a sterile occusive dressing over the insertion site. CT just wants tape over it "because it is only in for few minutes" and the dressing is too hard to remove.Anyone out there who can give me some feedback on what other facilities do for these "short term" IV sites when it comes to dressing them? Know I'm wordy but it is my first time posting a thread.:typing Hate to make waves my first month on the job but what do you do??

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Recently started new role in Radiology Dept. after 26 yrs Critical Care- Love the Job but the "Learning Curve" can be difficult when you have been in your comfort zone for a long time. Still trying to get used to the outpatient reqiurements. So the CT techs want me to start all IV's which I don't have a problem with but I do it per our hospital policy- with a sterile occusive dressing over the insertion site. CT just wants tape over it "because it is only in for few minutes" and the dressing is too hard to remove.Anyone out there who can give me some feedback on what other facilities do for these "short term" IV sites when it comes to dressing them? Know I'm wordy but it is my first time posting a thread.:typing Hate to make waves my first month on the job but what do you do??

Follow the policies of the employer, if CT has a seperate approved P+P for you to follow great. Also if time is the problem for them, you can have part of the occlusive dressing pinched before placing it so it is easier to take off.

Jeremy

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Specializes in ICU, clinical education, radiology.

We use a sterile occlusive dressing even for those short-term IV's. It's not that hard to take the dressing off.

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Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN.

welcome to allnurses! i start all of the iv's for ct's and mri's and i've never had a tech complain about how the iv was secured but then again i am the one who dc's all the iv's. occasionally when i'm at lunch and they have an add on and they've started an iv and i dc it i see that they simply put a piece of tape over the iv but i don't say anything. i prefer to do it right and to use the sterile opsite. i always fold a corner over just a bit to make it easy to pull back off. good luck, radiology is such a joy compared to med/surg!

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We use tegaderm the 3M product it comes off easily, some of the techs use just the plastic tape. I like the occlusive dressing better, I can see and feel the site better.

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