Developing an alternative workflow model for peripherally inserted central catheter placement

Many challenges face vascular access nurses as technology improves and patients require more numerous and lengthy intravenous therapies. Nurses began placing peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) at the patient bedside in an effort to defray costly interventional radiology procedures and provide for patient comfort. In recent years, the numbers of PICC procedures have increased, and the procedure itself has become more technologically advanced. With these advances have come new logistical, environmental, and ergonomic challenges. This article explores some of these challenges, offers an alternative model to bedside PICC insertions, and describes the process and results of implementing this model in the milieu of a university teaching hospital.