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Nurses' Short Peripheral Catheter Flushing Practices: Implications for Patient Care, Nursing Education, and Policy
Crystal B Norton1, Heather Alico Lauria, David Baker
1University of North Carolina Medical Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina (Ms Norton, Drs Lauria and Smith-Miller, and Mr Baker); University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, North Carolina (Ms Hauser). Crystal B. Norton, BSN, RN, currently serves as a clinical nurse IV for the acute care Neurology and Neurosurgery Unit in the Neurosciences Hospital at University of North Carolina Healthcare in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Heather Alico Lauria, DNP, RN, is currently a clinical nurse III on the acute care Neurology and Neurosurgery Unit in the Neurosciences Hospital at University of North Carolina Healthcare. David Baker, MSN, RN, is a clinical nurse IV on the acute care Neurology and Neurosurgery Unit in the Neurosciences Hospital at University of North Carolina Healthcare. Paloma Hauser, BA, is currently a doctoral student in the Department of Biostatistics, Gillings School of Global Public Health, at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Cheryl A. Smith-Miller, PhD, RN-BC, currently serves as a nurse scientist in the department of Nursing Quality and Research, UNC Healthcare, and as vice chair on the nonbiomedical institutional review board committee at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, office of human research ethics.
Abstract:
Nursing practice and institutional policies regarding short peripheral catheter (SPC) flushing vary. These variations result in a lack of understanding about the factors that influence nurses' SPC flushing practices and leave their effect on outcomes unexplored-information that could potentially enhance nurses' clinical education, institutional policy efforts, and patient care. Using a mixed-methods design, this study examined SPC flushing practices and outcomes among a cohort of medical-surgical nurses and explored their rationale for flushing. Trends were noted in the timing of flushes, and the factors that influenced nurses' SPC flushing practices included patient acuity, experience, and workload.
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