IVTeam

Thanks for the links; they were a big help.

Hi all. I am wondering if any of you use eICU at your facilities. It's a type of telenursing for CCU patients. Our hospital is opening an eICU center and I am wondering what the job entails. The biggest question I want to is if I am in direct patient care doing hands or if I am monitor watching all day. Monitor watching is not for me. Thanks for any input.

Hello all. I am just curious as to how IV nurses and PICC nurses are paid at other facilities. I am a member of an IV team at a 535-bed Level II Trauma center. We average around 200 PICCs per month. Our department is staffed 24/7 for IV services and PICCs. Right now PICCs are placed from 0700 until 2200 and starting in a month we will be placing PICCs 24/7, except during the hours of 11p-7a only urgent PICCs will be placed because there are only 2 IV nurses at night, one of which is a PICC nurse. Our department asked our manager if we should be paid specialty pay because we provide a service that a "regular" floor nurse cannot do. We could float to others depts, but we are not required, but other depts could not float to us. Do any of you receive specialty pay or are compensated for your skills? Thanks so much.

At our hospital IV IG is not filtered. It must be infused through a line with D5W. The IVIG dose is determined by the MD but we calculate the rate of the infusion. Vital signs are obtained pre-infusion. After the infusion is started, vitals are obtained every 15 minutes. If after the 15 minute increment if the vitals are stable then the infusion is titrated up for another 15 minutes. After the 2nd 15 mins vitals are obtained and if vitals are stable the infusion is again titrated aand this continues for 2 more cycles of 15 mins. The remaining drip is infused at the rate of the 4th increment and vitals are obtained 30mins and 1 hour after the infusion is completed. If the patient is going to experience an adverse reaction it usually occurs during the titration.