PEG tubes

Can you please be more specific? Working in a GI lab where they are uaually inserted, or be re-inserting them on the nursing unit when they come out and need to be replaced? There are two very different protocols that are followed.

The last time I witnessed a gastrotomy space being surgically created and the PEG tube subsequently being inserted, the two scrub nurses who assisted the surgeons with the procedure were LVNs (licensed vocational nurses). This was at a well-known hospital in southern California.

Actually I was after information about nurses who actually assist with placing the tubes in the Endoscopy Procedure area. We have RNs here who assist in placing the tube, ie they are scrubbed, do the skin incision and pull the tube through. The DR performs the endoscopy, but we are unsure how common this practice is elsewhere. Thank you for your response. Anne

Have worked GI lab for many years, and have never seen an RN making the skin incision. Usually always have two doctors in for the procedure., or you could do one physician and one PA. In most states in the US, if not all, it would be a violation of the policies of the Board of Nursing of that state for the RN to be making the incision, inless they had prior certification such as an RNFA, etc. In the US, we are woking 100% under are own license, not that of a physician.