Ensure competency
Quality statement 3
A patient’s PIVC is inserted and maintained by clinicians who are trained and assessed as competent in current evidence-based practices for vessel health preservation and preventing device-related complications, relevant to their scope of practice. Insertion by a clinician working towards achieving competency is supervised by a clinician who is trained and assessed as competent.
Purpose
To minimise trauma to the patient by ensuring that PIVCs are inserted and/or maintained by appropriately skilled members of the healthcare team.
What the quality statement means
For patients
If you need to have a PIVC inserted, you have a right to expect that the member of your healthcare team who performs the procedure has relevant training and assessment of their skills in this area. In some instances, clinicians who are in training may insert your PIVC under supervision. You can also expect that the clinicians inserting and looking after your PIVC will keep their skills and knowledge up to date.
For clinicians
Ensure that you complete training and education as specified by your health service organisation that is relevant to your scope of practice, and that you are assessed as competent in using and adhering to the current, evidence-based practices to preserve vessel health and prevent complications associated with using a PIVC. If you are working towards achieving competency, when you insert a PIVC ensure you are supervised by someone who has successfully completed a competency assessment of their practical skills and knowledge in this area.
Maintain continuing education to ensure that your practical skills and knowledge remain in line with current practice recommendations, and that your competency is maintained and documented according to your health service organisation’s policies.
For health service organisations
Use evidence-based guidelines to identify the practical skills and knowledge required to successfully insert and manage PIVCs. Based on these guidelines, develop policies outlining the competency and assessment required for clinicians, relevant to their scope of practice, and how competency will be monitored.
Validate competency using systems such as checklists or forms that focus on measurable assessment of performance, and use a standardised approach to assess competency so that infusion therapy practices are consistent across the organisation. Have a system for assessing competency of clinicians who have come from other facilities.
Ensure that competency is documented according to local policy. Monitor and review competency for feedback to clinicians and ongoing quality improvement.
Develop workforce competency as appropriate to the size of the organisation, as well as the availability of a competent work force after hours. Options include subspecialty or vascular access champions for greater first-time insertion success.
For patients
If you need to have a PIVC inserted, you have a right to expect that the member of your healthcare team who performs the procedure has relevant training and assessment of their skills in this area. In some instances, clinicians who are in training may insert your PIVC under supervision. You can also expect that the clinicians inserting and looking after your PIVC will keep their skills and knowledge up to date.
For clinicians
Ensure that you complete training and education as specified by your health service organisation that is relevant to your scope of practice, and that you are assessed as competent in using and adhering to the current, evidence-based practices to preserve vessel health and prevent complications associated with using a PIVC. If you are working towards achieving competency, when you insert a PIVC ensure you are supervised by someone who has successfully completed a competency assessment of their practical skills and knowledge in this area.
Maintain continuing education to ensure that your practical skills and knowledge remain in line with current practice recommendations, and that your competency is maintained and documented according to your health service organisation’s policies.
For health service organisations
Use evidence-based guidelines to identify the practical skills and knowledge required to successfully insert and manage PIVCs. Based on these guidelines, develop policies outlining the competency and assessment required for clinicians, relevant to their scope of practice, and how competency will be monitored.
Validate competency using systems such as checklists or forms that focus on measurable assessment of performance, and use a standardised approach to assess competency so that infusion therapy practices are consistent across the organisation. Have a system for assessing competency of clinicians who have come from other facilities.
Ensure that competency is documented according to local policy. Monitor and review competency for feedback to clinicians and ongoing quality improvement.
Develop workforce competency as appropriate to the size of the organisation, as well as the availability of a competent work force after hours. Options include subspecialty or vascular access champions for greater first-time insertion success.
Read quality statement 4 - Choose the right insertion site and PIVC