TECHS VEIN LOCKING

[Dionyonce]

OKAY...So at my facility Techs/Pca's vein lock. Now that occurs when a patients need to go down to XRAY, VCUG and so fourth...Now this has been going on for years....Now this particular clinician in the department all of a sudden said she never knew of this and now has put a stop to this...Saying RN's are suppose to vein lock because everytime you vein lock, you flush. Now for one second...you will not the lose the line...But honestly i think the clinician just doesnt like the fact that that particular tech was vein locking....Now after it spread all over the department the head Nurse along with the RN staff was disagreeing with her saying they dont see anything wrong with Techs doing that....What are your thought???

[TiffyRN, BSN, PhD]

Outside the hospital, EMT-Intermediates start and use lines all the time. In some places, like Israel, every EMT can start and use a line. Techs can certainly be taught to safely work with a line, if that is what is wanted.

Here's a big difference between EMT's and tech's. EMT's have their own certification. All tech's/NA's I have worked with function under the RN's license (maybe it's different elsewhere). The RN is responsible to supervise them and choose which activities are safe to delegate to them. Yes, they can be safely trained to handle IV's. I've helped train non-high school graduate mothers to care for their infant going home on TPN to a central line. Many complex skills CAN be taught to non-nursing school graduates. But this training does not happen most of the time.