Intravenous Therapy Nursing: Infusion Safety and Complication Prevention

Course Purpose

3 contact hours nursing continuing education course: Intravenous Therapy Nursing: Infusion Safety and Complication Prevention.

Continuing Education Credit Designation

This educational activity is credited for 3 contact hours at completion of the activity.

Overview

3 contact hours nursing continuing education course: Intravenous Therapy Nursing: Infusion Safety and Complication Prevention.

Objectives

Upon completion of this independent study, the learner will be able to:

1. Explain why intravenous therapy, although a common nursing intervention, is an invasive skill requiring diligent safety practices.
2. Distinguish an arterial line from a venous access device and state the rule about infusing through an arterial line.
3. Select a peripheral site systematically, naming the sites the retrieved sources prefer and the sites they say to avoid.
4. Explain how catheter radius, rather than line length, governs achievable flow, and apply that when a rapid infusion is needed.
5. Describe isotonic, hypotonic and hypertonic fluid behaviour and the patient groups in whom normal saline is given cautiously.
6. Relate fluid and electrolyte balance and dehydration to the reason an intravenous fluid was ordered.
7. Apply the hand hygiene moments and aseptic technique requirements that belong to intravenous care.
8. Differentiate phlebitis, infiltration and extravasation by signs and by the action each requires.
9. Recognise circulatory overload, air embolism, catheter embolism and catheter-related bloodstream infection and state the immediate nursing response.
10. Describe the maintenance requirements the retrieved sources give for central lines, including dressing changes, occlusion and thrombosis.
11. State what changes in nursing monitoring when the infusion is blood, parenteral nutrition, patient-controlled analgesia or an epidural.
12. Document site assessment, tubing and lock management and patient teaching so the next nurse can act on the record.

Who this course is for:

Advanced Practice Registered Nurses, registered nurses, licensed practical or vocational nurses, and other healthcare providers in any setting who want continuing education on Intravenous Therapy Nursing: Infusion Safety and Complication Prevention.

Course outline

12 sections · finish in any order across devices

1. 1

   Course overview and learning objectives

2. 2

   Introduction

3. 3

   Routine and Invasive at the Same Time: What IV Therapy Actually Is

4. 4

   Choosing the Vein and the Catheter: Anatomy, Gauge and Flow

5. 5

   What Is Actually in the Bag: Fluids, Electrolytes and the Limits of Saline

6. 6

   Aseptic Technique from Hub to Hands

7. 7

   Local Complications: Telling Phlebitis, Infiltration and Extravasation Apart

8. 8

   Systemic Complications: Overload, Air, Catheter Fragments and Bloodstream Infection

9. 9

   Central Lines and Specialised Infusions: Blood, Nutrition, PCA and Epidural

10. 10

    Living With the Line: Monitoring, Tubing, Locks and What the Patient Is Taught

11. 11

    Nursing Considerations

12. 12

    Conclusion

This Course Satisfies

Requirement summaries come from our state requirement records. All Users of Fast CE For Less’s website and content are responsible for knowing their state’s license and renewal requirements.

Update history