PICC Sign above bed

[neverendinglori]

Hi Fellow RN's,

I am trying to create a sign above the bed for our pediatric unit... And for some reason I am struggling. I'm trying to make it professional yet cute kid friendly. Any idea's or examples out there?... My thoughts were.. Hi, My name is ____ I have a __ fr PICC on my _____ arm ... I dunno if I'm headed the right direction here.

Thanks!

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

I didn't vote on your poll because I don't work on a general peds unit so have no idea if a sign would be helpful or not. In the PICU we often have signs above the bed for things like "open sternum", "bagger on nitric", "C-spines precautions", "neuromuscular blockers in use" and other critical care-specific things (which a PICC wouldn't be). Nobody has bothered to make them kid-friendly or cheerful. They're just printed up using Word. But I think having a sign on the wards might be a good idea. You could maybe have a cartoon of a child in hospital PJs with the sleeves rolled up and apply a small bandaid to the appropriate arm. Bandaids will peel easily off a laminated sign and will stick and stick and stick, probably a dozen times before the adhesive is used up. I don't think I'd put the child's name on the sign though. HIPAA might not approve.

[neverendinglori]

Great Idea! Thank You for your inspiration - I will post it when I'm done if I can.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

What is the purpose of this sign? When I worked in the hospital, we used signs mainly to instruct the aides NOT to take BPs on the extremity where the PICC was. The sign would simply say "No BPs on R arm." I don't see why a nurse needs a sign to tell him/her that a child has a PICC. Presumably somewhere in the chart, the size is listed and the nurse will see said PICC when she assesses the child and gives him IV meds.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

Like the above poster, I cannot think of what the purpose would be. But then, in my world- only RNs care for patients- we do not have phlebotomy staff etc.

WHY do you need such a sign? I'm genuinely curious.

[OwlieO.O]

Straightforward is the best approach. The sign isn't for the child. It's for the healthcare team. You would want to be as concise as possible in my opinion.

[grudgrime]

Any hospital I've ever been at also just uses "no BP R/L arm". According to them too much information is a Hipaa violation.

[FinallyLPN,RN]

What is the purpose of this sign? When I worked in the hospital, we used signs mainly to instruct the aides NOT to take BPs on the extremity where the PICC was. The sign would simply say "No BPs on R arm." I don't see why a nurse needs a sign to tell him/her that a child has a PICC. Presumably somewhere in the chart, the size is listed and the nurse will see said PICC when she assesses the child and gives him IV meds.

At my hospital we are trying to minimize line sepsis so we implement stricter practices when accessing patients picc lines. We use the signs to be more conscientious, especially working nights or if hanging meds if helping others out.

[~PedsRN~, BSN, RN]

I can't imagine as the nurse, not knowing that my kid had a PICC and taking appropriate measures to care for it correctly. Has this been a problem in your facility? We have kids with all kinds of central lines. The only signs that we utilize are the "NO BPS" in whatever arm signs, for the techs.

[FinallyLPN,RN]

Hasn't been a problem on our unit but on other units yes.