How do you saline-lock? / What is saline-locking?

Nurses Medications

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I am a new nurse a noone has explained this to me

Specializes in GENERAL.
What in the world kind of nursing school doesn't teach this?? :eek:

This kind of question begs the question: why do we care?

Google the damn thing!

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Specializes in ICU.

Well, I just learned that some people call an IV "capped" if it is clamped. If I chart "capped" it's because I put a green alcohol swab cap on the port. I had no idea what anyone else meant if they said the line was "capped" but there was no Curos cap on the line - I assumed they were being lazy and charted something they didn't do.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, I.C.U., C.C.U.,E.D., O.B., Ger.

Very nasty, unhelpful remark from an obviously dangerous nurse, who already "KNOWS EVERYTHING!" I'm ashamed to say she sounds as if she's a Newbie, from Wisconsin, by her moniker. No seasoned nurse, worth her salt, would ever be that snarky!

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
A lot of places it's not even called a "saline lock" anymore.

What do they call it now instead? I agree that the OP does need to ask at work--any description is based on equipment said facility is using.

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Specializes in LTC and Pediatrics.

Definition of a saline lock:

Saline Lock

An intravenous portal, usually placed and left in a vein in one of the patient's arms, and used episodically for fluid ormedication infusions. Salt water flushes are used to maintain its patency. Saline locks replaced heparin locks in the 1990sbecause of cost and efficacy and because heparin locks posed a rare but unacceptable risk of heparin-related allergies, esp.heparin-related thrombocytopenia.

Looks like this:

saline-lock.jpg.74da525d47acf4cff83ea7adbf2bfb08.jpg

I had some ADN classes and we learned this in our lab before going to clinical. Yet, I guess some places don't teach this?

When I hear saline lock, the above is what I think of. It is flushed at scheduled times if not being use for an IV or meds.

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
This kind of question begs the question: why do we care?

Google the damn thing!

That's right! **** school! Just a bunch of scams! Everything we need to learn as nurses, we can learn from YouTube! Woohoo!

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