Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter Dressing Changes The focus of this paper is to provide the importance of evidenced based practice (EBP) in the nursing field and to compare the policy of Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center’s topic of peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) dressing changes to multiple evidenced based practices. Within the past decades, changing a PICC line dressing has changed over time. Different antiseptic agents and techniques of cleaning the site are completely different. The policy of Kaiser San Jose will be discussed and will provide information to support the reason behind the use of specific dressings and nursing actions. In addition, an explanation of the choice of policy and role as a future registered
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According to Polit and Beck (2014), “evidence based practice, broadly defined, is the use of the best evidence in making patient care decision, and such evidence typically comes from research conducted by nurses and other health care professionals”. The nursing profession has been around for many decades and with many research and studies performed, it allows old practices to be revised and altered in order to provide better outcomes in patient care and safety. The ultimate goal in the medical field is to provide the best outcome for the patients. Conducting research, collecting data, and analyzing the results, allows revisions to be made in order to practice and provide quality care based on evidence. Additionally, EBP is done to ensure that a certain clinical question is answered based on multiple clinical trial results (Lewis, Heitkemper, Dirksen, & butcher, 2014). Peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line dressing changes are extremely important in order to prevent infection. Changing a PICC line dressing requires patience and meticulous care. A PICC line is inserted into the vein and advanced until the “tip of the catheter is positioned in the distal one third of the superior vena cava” (Lewis, Heitkemper, Dirksen, & butcher, 2014, p. 310). Therefore, it is important to maintain sterility due to its high-risk placement in the body. Maintaining a sterile dressing is absolutely important …show more content…
This provides less risk for infection and decreases the chance of bacteria from entering into the insertion site. The evidence based practices correlates to the Kaiser Permanete policies and procedures in regards to the PICC line dressing changes. With sterile technique and abiding by the policy of using the correct equipment, the risk of infection would be greatly reduced. A survey study was conducted and PICC line insertion nurses claimed that by performing with sterile barrier precautions, use of chlorhexidine gluconate, and utilizing a checklist, it reduces complications (Krein, Kuhn, Ratz, & Chopra,
According to Polit and Beck (2014), “evidence based practice, broadly defined, is the use of the best evidence in making patient care decision, and such evidence typically comes from research conducted by nurses and other health care professionals”. The nursing profession has been around for many decades and with many research and studies performed, it allows old practices to be revised and altered in order to provide better outcomes in patient care and safety. The ultimate goal in the medical field is to provide the best outcome for the patients. Conducting research, collecting data, and analyzing the results, allows revisions to be made in order to practice and provide quality care based on evidence. Additionally, EBP is done to ensure that a certain clinical question is answered based on multiple clinical trial results (Lewis, Heitkemper, Dirksen, & butcher, 2014). Peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line dressing changes are extremely important in order to prevent infection. Changing a PICC line dressing requires patience and meticulous care. A PICC line is inserted into the vein and advanced until the “tip of the catheter is positioned in the distal one third of the superior vena cava” (Lewis, Heitkemper, Dirksen, & butcher, 2014, p. 310). Therefore, it is important to maintain sterility due to its high-risk placement in the body. Maintaining a sterile dressing is absolutely important …show more content…
This provides less risk for infection and decreases the chance of bacteria from entering into the insertion site. The evidence based practices correlates to the Kaiser Permanete policies and procedures in regards to the PICC line dressing changes. With sterile technique and abiding by the policy of using the correct equipment, the risk of infection would be greatly reduced. A survey study was conducted and PICC line insertion nurses claimed that by performing with sterile barrier precautions, use of chlorhexidine gluconate, and utilizing a checklist, it reduces complications (Krein, Kuhn, Ratz, & Chopra,