Do nurses still label their hanging I.V. bags of fluid with the timed masking tape? How do you keep track of how much fluid is being infused in--other than looking at the pump (and the patient)?
I just started a new job in a rehab hospital where hanging I.V. antibiotics and I.V. fluids is done round the clock. Whereas, I only saw patients requiring I.V. fluids maybe once every 3-4 months in my prior job in subacute rehab/ LTC. In that setting, it was easy for me to eyeball that one patient (and check for infiltration) who required those meds, but that was just one patient out of 29 who had a central line in place.
I'm finishing up my BSN and only ONE of my nursing instructors has ever remotely mentioned time-taping the fluid bags to monitor I.V. infusions. I have NOT seen any nurses during my clinical rotations utilizing the time-tape method, either. Then again, I didn't keep track of every single nurse on every single shift. I'm a newbie to the whole long term acute care hospital setting.
