Use of a Novel Training Aid for Teaching the Nursing Care of Central Venous Catheters

The occurrence of central venous catheter infections is a metric that hospital systems track. We determined that central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) at our institution occurred in a delayed fashion, prompting us to raise the question of whether the infections were related to insertion or to catheter care and then to design a training simulation focused on how to change the dressing for central venous catheters.

Using low-cost equipment, such as refrigerator magnets and tape, we constructed a reusable SorbaView SHIELD Contour (Centurion Medical Products Corporation) sterile central line dressing for use in training.

This cost-effective simulation innovation gives staff who care for central venous catheters the opportunity to practice the manual skills involved in dressing changes and eliminates the problem of expending a single-use dressing with each learner experience. The magnetic dressings can be reused as long as the integrity of the SorbaView SHIELD Contour is preserved.

We hope that ongoing training with this simulation model, along with demonstration of competency, will result in standardized central line care and a decrease in CLABSI rates at our institution.