• Courtney Edwards and Jodi Jones.
• Dallas, TX. Electronic address: courtney.edwards@phhs.org.
• J Emerg Nurs. 2018 Jan 1; 44 (1): 33-36.

ProblemEmergency medical care often necessitates placement of peripheral intravenous (PIV) catheters. When traditional methods for obtaining PIV access are not successful, ultrasound guidance is a rescue technique for peripheral vascular placement that improves the quality of patient care.MethodsThe aim of this training program was to develop a process where emergency nurses would be competent to perform ultrasound guided PIV to improve the quality of patient care delivered while reducing throughput time. Administrative program development required creating a nursing practice statement, procedure guideline, operational plan, and competency validation. A training program comprising both didactic and hands-on training was developed and provided by emergency medicine physicians with formal ultrasound fellowship training.ResultsIn determining whether the training program was adequate in preparing the student to place an ultrasound-guided PIV, 92.9% of students "agreed" or "strongly agreed." In having confidence in their ability to obtain an ultrasound guided PIV catheter placement, 35.7% of respondents "agreed" and 64.3% "strongly agreed." In finding it difficult to be successful in achieving ultrasound guided PIV catheter placement, 71.4% of students "strongly disagreed" and 14.3% "disagreed." All students (100%) felt it was a feasible task to train nurses to successfully place ultrasound-guided PIV catheters and 71.4% of students strongly support continuing to provide this training program and competency validation.DiscussionEstablishment of an effective didactic and hands-on training program resulted in emergency department nurses becoming competent in placement of ultrasound guided PIV catheters to provide optimal patient care.Copyright © 2017 Emergency Nurses Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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