'Just in case' IV cannula practice in Wellington Regional Hospital's ED
The Graduate School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health's Master of Nursing Science student, Lynne Gledstone-Brown has been on a roll! She has recently published her first article, presented her project at an Emergency Nurses Conference in Queenstown and been spotlighted more than once in hospital newsletters.
"As part of my Master's, I undertook a literature review looking into the 'just in case' intravenous cannula practice. A cannula is a tube inserted into the patient's veins to provide venous access. I felt this was very appropriate and fitting for the Emergency Department (ED), where I work as an Associate Charge Nurse Manager. Therefore with the aid of this research knowledge and the Senior Leadership Team I initiated the Practice Responsible Intravenous Cannulation Today (PRICT) project.
I started by conducting an audit on cannulation and phlebotomy practices in ED and from this developed an audit schedule. To facilitate practice and culture change, I made use of quality boards which provided an update on the progress of the project and conducted regular teaching to both nursing and medical staff.
PRICT stickers were placed onto each patient file as a reminder to practice responsible cannulation and to promote and encourage staff to critically think on whether a cannula would be required for patients.
There are currently no formalised guidelines for 'just in case' IV cannulation for EDs internationally but the hope is this PRICT project and Wellington ED can be part of this emerging topic nationally collaborating towards formalisation of some guidelines."