IV Pump frustration!

rnmi2004 · Jan 12, 2005

I am a new grad who is frustrated and scared of IV pumps, hanging IVs etc.
We didn't have a pump in our school lab. Now I'm new at a hosp. They say go find out why that pump is beeping.
I just stand there and say "duh". Today I was at orientation, but had about 5min time to play with the buttons.
Is there anywhere on the web where there is proper instruction for this????
I like to do things right. Don't like to be unsure.
It's embarrassing:imbar and possibly dangerous for the patients! Thanks, Nurscee

The school can't teach you everything about every type of equipment you may come across in your nursing career. I know, it is very frustrating to hear this annoying beep and you're fumbling around, trying to look like you know what you're doing because the patient is right there. As a new grad in the hospital, you should have a preceptor willing to show you how to use the pumps.

SmilingBluEyes · Jan 12, 2005

I would ask for an inservice on the pumps. You need to know exactly HOW they work and to problem-solve these things. You are entitled to an inservice on ALL equipment with which you work. Demand it! It's for your safety as well as that of your patients!

Mystery5 · Jan 12, 2005

Don't worry about pumps, they are really not complicated. You'll be working with them so often that you'll be a whiz in no time. The ones we have will beep if there is an occlusion. It'll say distal or proximal occlusion. 'Distal occlusion' usually means the patient kinked off the line by bending his arm or kinking the loose tubing on the bed. It can also be a sign that the IV is infiltrated. 'Proximal occlusion' means that you forgot to unclamp the tubing above the machine.

'Air in Line' means that the pump has detected air in the chamber. That most often happens when the secondary line has gone dry when administering a piggyback. There should be a way to 'backprime' some of the primary solution into the secondary line. Just remember never, never backprime with a heparin drip or any other titrated drip! If there is no secondary tubing up and the primary tubing has run dry, then you can connect a 12 cc syringe to the secondary port in order to back prime and clear the air from the chamber. On our pumps, if it has been beeping too long then it won't let you backprime. In that case, remove the chamber from the pump, attach a syringe to the secondary port, pull out the little valve thingie in the back, and withdraw the air manually with the syringe. You can leave the syringe on the pump for the next person.

It's a good idea to always program a little less solution than the bag holds, so to avoid 'air in line'.