Nonlicensed personnel and arterial lines

[seasonednurse78]

Hello everyone. I was looking at job postings on a healthcare system website today and saw several positions listed for cardiovascular technicians. The duties included patient care, pulling arterial lines. The only qualifications for the job listed was that nursing students are preferred.

Now, I have been in nursing (LVN/LPN) for 28 years, having worked in a variety of settings including hospital/acute care and this just doesn't seem right to me. I feel and/or thought that only an RN or other similar credentialed person could pull arterial lines. Could someone please enlighten me/give your opinion on this? The idea of a nonlicensed person pulling arterial lines scares the h#%* out of me.

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

Having one more class to finish my BSN I can honestly say... *nothing.*

It's not about the degree. It's about the license. If my patient had a problem after a very invasive line was removed I'd have trouble justifying in court why I let a non-licensed person handle the task.

What I am curious about, regarding a court issue is if the facility themselves have hired and supposedly trained this person to perform this skill, then, why would a judge place blame on the RN? Wouldn't be the facility in question moreso than the licensed nurse? The RN didn't hire this person...the hospital did. I am not asking this to challenge or argue, but am just thinking about it from the other side of the fence.