PICC programs

[PICC RN]

I am hoping to find new contacts in gathering information on successful PICC teams in the USA. With hospital costs rising, and bedside nursing time in a crisis, the formation of Vascular Access Teams will prove to be a major cost saving strategy, and pathway to magnet status for major medical centers.

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

sorry I can't help you with your question but wanted to wish you welcome

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Welcome! Good luck!

[sbivrn]

I am very proud of the IV team of which I am a part. We are a part of Gaston Memorial Hospital in Gastonia, NC. There are 9 of us and 7 of us are CRNI's. We cover the hospital 24/7. We place 150-180 PICC per month. We place several hundred difficult IVs each month as well. We are responsible for making rounds on every kind of central line in the hospital and doing the neccessary site care for each. We are presently involved in a study that tracks all central lines placed in an ICU setting from the date of placement until discharge or removal. We work very hard and we are proud of what we offer our patients and our staff. The nurse who started our team a few years ago has now left and is presently teaching other hospitals how to implement IV teams in their institutions. If you contact Bard Access Systems they can get you set up with a person to help you get started. ( This is who our former staff person works for :)

[PICC ACE]

Try this link--the presentations are all very good.

http://www.bardaccess.com/videos/nurse/

[mom to a PRINCESS]

Hi, what is a CRNI? How do you become a CRNI? Is this some type of advanced practice nurse? I am assuming this person would do PICC placement? Is the pay better than a regular staff RN? Sorry so many questions but I was browsing around on this board and came across CRNI on one of the posts and I have never heard of this term used. Thanks.

[sbivrn]

CRNI stands for Certified Registered Nurse Infusion. To become a CRNI you must currently work in one of the nine core areas of infusion nursing, and pass the certification exam. Not all CRNI's place PICC lines. This is a national certification by the Infusion Nurses Certification Corporation and is accredited by the American Board of Nursing Specialties. We operate under the INS standards of care for infusion therapy. You can find out all you need to know by visiting http://www.ins1.org. In most institutions, the rate of pay for nurses with certifications is higher, and it also helps in marketing yourself. Hope this helps!

[mom to a PRINCESS]

sbivrn, Thank you for explanining this and the great info.

[MCSpecialsRN]

Hi, I am new to this site, I am a Registered Nurse that works in Special Procedures in a 350 plus bed hospital, our hospital has an IV therapy team that places mostly hep locks, and our IR's place most of the PICC lines, we are trying to turn that around and purchase a ultrasound for the IV team to use. I am also looking for some advice and or help in finding out if anyone out there has an assessment tool that identifies appropriate vascular access device upon patient admission to the hospital. I would greatly appreciate any help or reply on this subject. Thanks!