philly22

Hi mom to a princess, We get paid around the same amount as staff nurses except we are salaried. We do not get paid for each individual PICC we place. Our shifts that we work are either 8 or 10 hours. Our coverage is M-F 8-6 and weekends and holidays we work 8-4. On an average we can place any where between 12- 25 PICCs per day. We average around 250-300 per month. Are you trying to start a team at your facility?

I am not starting an infusion company nor am I starting a new team. I am a member of a team that supports education at our facility. Our hopes are that a new PICC nurse have at a MINIMUM of 3 successful solo insertions. That doesn't mean that is all that is required. Of course they have to feel comfortable with what they are doing before they leave our facility, but like most other facilities we do charge a fee so depending on their facility, that determines how many days they are allowed to be with us. Anyone who comes can come as many days as they feel appropriate until they are comfortable. We still keep in touch with all the nurses we have trained so far. They are free to contact us with question, problems or concerns. At our facility we place approx 200 per month so there is a lot of opportunity for insertions. The nurses who have trained with us are usually new PICC nurses attempting to start up a team at their facility. We have gotten a lot of good feedback from them. Hope that cleared up some of your questions.

Hi ART96, I am a PICC team member at a facility in PA that allows PICC certified nurses to come in and learn how to insert PICC lines. You do need a PA license to train here and you have to have taken the PICC certification test. The criteria is that you come for 2-3 days and have a minimum of 3 successful insertions prior to finishing your training. If you are interested in more information please let me know.

If you are having trouble seeing your needle on the screen, there are companies who sell ecogenic tip needles. They are easier to visualize on the site rite or sono site.

For upper extremities that develop DVT's around the PICC line we remove the PICC line if it's an occlusive thrombus or if the MD requests the line to be removed. If it's a nonocclusive thrombus the line doesn't necessarily have to be removed. Warm soaks and elevation work well. As well as some form of anticoagulation therapy should be started if the patients' condition allows. Any other questions feel free to email me.:monkeydance:

Are you referring to a clot around the PICC catheter. And if so, is it an occlusive thrombus or a nonocclusive?

1. We insert PICCs alone unless we are not busy with consults. We usually have 2-3 PICC nurses on per day and place between 200-250 PICCs per month. 2. Our hours are 0800-1800 M-F and 0800-1600 on the weekends and some holidays. Right now we only have on call for the major holidays. 3. Just like critterlover, we are not able to "wet read" our x-rays but we do look at each of our films. We too have to wait for the official read from the radiologists. 4. We do have radiology "back up" if we need them. They do not like to insert PICC lines if they don't have too. We have greatly reduced their amount of insertions since we have started using the ultrasound machines. I love them!

B-D has an on-line cert course. After completion of the cert course, we have had some nurses come to our facility for "hands on" training.