1 or 2 person insertion

[thomas76]

How does everyone insert PICCs ? One person or two person I.e with an assistant. In our hospital we work with two person and it proves to be more productive and safer.

[la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN]

It seems like a 2-person insert is much more efficient, IMHO.

[Asystole RN]

2 person is definitely better for a variety of reasons such as efficiency, ensuring sterility, and patient safety but I am not aware of a single facility in Arizona that uses a 2 man team routinely.

[NicuGal, MSN, RN]

Our fellows place them by themselves after we sedate our kids.

[MunoRN, RN]

I agree it's potentially safer, although whether or not that increased safety produces a clinically significant difference is not as clear.

It's certainly not more efficient to have a 2 nurse team. It's likely that a 2 person team can cut some time off the time it takes a single person, but there is just no possible way that a 2 nurse team can cut the single person insertion time in half.

[lovebeeinganurse]

We educate our nurses on the vascular access team to place PICC's without additional staff.

With staffing to cover the rest of the hospitals peripheral IV needs,

being an issue it has worked efficiently with one nurse placing them. However,

if there is an issue where that nurse needed help in placement, of course the nurse in charge on the VAT

would assist as the backup.

[Asystole RN]

I agree it's potentially safer, although whether or not that increased safety produces a clinically significant difference is not as clear.

It's certainly not more efficient to have a 2 nurse team. It's likely that a 2 person team can cut some time off the time it takes a single person, but there is just no possible way that a 2 nurse team can cut the single person insertion time in half.

And how long have you been a vascular access nurse?

I was under the impression you were an ICU nurse? How would you possibly know what is or is not more efficient? Blowing smoke again?

[lovebeeinganurse]

Not sure who you are replying to in regards to the question of PICC insertion 1 vs2 .

it is more important to support each other than judge other colleagues based on their

years of nursing service or where they work. ICU is not the only department in nursing.

Remember we need to nurture younger nurses as these are the individuals who will be caring for you some day.

[MunoRN, RN]

And how long have you been a vascular access nurse?

I was under the impression you were an ICU nurse? How would you possibly know what is or is not more efficient? Blowing smoke again?

I understand math and time. In order for two person insertion to be more efficient and single person, it would have to cut the time it takes to complete the procedure by more than half. This would mean all of the individual tasks involved in placing a PICC would have to be capable of being done simultaneously with another task, which isn't likely, there will be some, likely a lot of slack time for the second person.