Vascular Access Device Care and Management: A Comprehensive Organizational Approach

Britt M Meyer¹, Dawn Berndt, Michele Biscossi+4

• ¹Duke University School of Nursing, Durham, North Carolina (Dr Meyer); Infusion Nurses Society, Norwood, Massachusetts (Dr Berndt); VA Medical Center, Albany, New York (Ms Biscossi); Houston Baptist University, Houston, Texas (Dr Eld); Rutland Regional Medical Center, Rutland, Vermont (Ms Gillette-Kent); University of Louisville James Graham Brown Cancer Center, Louisville, Kentucky; University of Louisville School of Nursing, Louisville, Kentucky (Dr Malone); New York Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, New York, New York (Dr Wuerz). Britt M. Meyer, PhD, RN, CRNI®, VA-BC, NE-BC, is a Duke University School of Nursing quality implementation scholar who provides leadership for vascular access and infusion practices at Duke University Health System. She leads the 55-member vascular access team at Duke University Hospital and is widely published on vascular access and infusion topics. Dr Meyer is currently involved in a variety of research projects aimed at improving patient outcomes related to vascular access and infusion therapy. She presents nationally and internationally to disseminate emerging evidence and promote translation of evidence into practice. Dawn Berndt, DNP, RN, CRNI®, is the Clinical Education and Publications Manager for Infusion Nurses Society (INS). She has been an active INS member and a CRNI® since 2005. She served on INS' National Council on Education from 2011 to 2014 and on INS' Board of Directors as a director-at-large from 2017 to 2018. Prior to joining the INS team, Dawn worked for 13 years as a clinical nurse specialist for infusion and as nurse manager of the infusion center, the venous access team, and the RN response team at the University of Wisconsin Health-University Hospital. Michele Biscossi, MS, RN, ACNP-BC, CNL, VA-BC, is an acute care nurse practitioner and a clinical nurse leader within surgical service and interventional radiology and vascular access at the Albany Stratton VA Medical Center in Albany, New York. She is twice master's prepared in nursing education and as a clinical nurse specialist in critical care. Ms Biscossi has worked as adjunct nursing faculty at Excelsior College in Albany, NY, and at the Sage Colleges in Troy, NY. She is widely published on vascular access and infusion therapy as well as pain management and venous thromboembolic prevention and treatment in international peer-reviewed journals. She is an active member of AVA and INS and has served on the National Board of Directors for AVA, The AVA Foundation, and INS' National Council on Education. She is one of the original co-authors of the Vascular Access Certification Exam Review Guide for AVA and is three times nationally board certified. Ms Biscossi presents nationally and internationally to disseminate emerging evidence and promote translation of evidence into practice. Melanie Eld, PhD, RN, is a nurse leader with 11 years of experience in clinical education. She has served in various academic, management, and administration positions and as a consultant to frontline clinicians and managers. Dr Eld's clinical background is in hematopoietic progenitor stem cell transplant, hematology, and infusion. Currently, she is a professor in the School of Nursing and Allied Health at Houston Baptist University, teaching courses in patho-pharmacology and nursing research. Ginger Gillette-Kent, MSN, MBA, RN, APRN, ANP-BC, NEA-BC, is a nurse practitioner with 14 years of experience in a variety of areas, including 5 years in leadership, infusion, diagnostic imaging, and interventional radiology. Currently, Ms Gillette-Kent works as a manager of nursing at Rutland Regional Medical Center and screens patients for lung cancer. She is focused on defeating the concept "because we've always done it that way" and embracing evidence-based medicine. Angie Malone, DNP, APRN, ACNS-BC, OCN, AOCNS, is an oncology clinical nurse specialist with 18 years of experience in oncology, palliative care, and vascular access. She is the director of medical oncology and infusion services at University of Louisville James Graham Brown Cancer Center. Dr Malone seeks innovative ways to improve operations, nursing practice, and the patient experience in the oncology setting. Currently, Dr Malone serves as faculty and teaches evidence-based practice courses at University of Louisville School of Nursing DNP program. She has presented on a myriad of topics in oncology, vascular access, and evidence-based practice. Lorelle Wuerz, PhD, MSN, RN, VA-BC, NEA-BC, is a nursing leader with 15 years of experience managing medical-surgical, labor and delivery, recovery, postpartum, critical care, surgical, trauma, and transplant services. She is currently the director of nursing for practice, quality, and professional development at New York Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. Dr Wuerz speaks nationally on various topics in nursing and has authored several manuscripts on nursing leadership, professionalism, and vascular access-related topics.