desertgal

Thanks for the reply Klone. One more question. If you have your fluids wide open, is it necessary to flush in between incompatible medications. I always do, but is it necessary? Does the wide open fluid provide enough flow to flush the distal port free of the first medication?

I'm new to the Emergency Department. We usually start an IV bolus wide open off the pump on most of our patients. I see a lot of nurses giving IV push medications and not pinching off the tubing above the distal port when pushing medications. I've asked several of the nurses about this practice, and they've told me as long as they have an IV that's working well they won't pinch the tubing. They slowly push the drug while the NS is infusing. This gives a slow, even push. My concern with this method is that the drug could back prime up the line. On the other hand, if you do pinch off the tubing (like all the textbooks say to do) and are giving an undiluted drug, how do you control the rate of administration? Do you push a little, release the tubing, push a little? Are both methods considered acceptable? I know there are other threads about diluting all IV push medication with NS so that the push can be better controlled. I hope this isn't a redundant thread. Thanks!