Bridging an Education Gap: Ultrasound-guided Peripheral IVs

Abstract

Purpose

To provide ultrasound (US) education to anesthesia providers to increase usage for peripheral intravascular (IV) cannulation on difficult IV access patients.

Design

This project reflects a qualitative descriptive quality improvement project with outcomes measured. Data in this project include the overall knowledge and competency scores from the provider’s US survey before and after education and training were provided.

Methods

A presentation was developed and provided to 38 certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNA) via the hospital’s online platform. Next, in-person simulations were conducted to facilitate the skills of US utilization. Each CRNA participating in simulations successfully performed the skill. The impact and success of the education bundle were collected via the disbursement of a Likert-scale survey via an automated data collection software.

Findings

Seventeen of the 38 (45%) participants responded to the survey. Of these respondents, 88% of providers indicated that their US skills and confidence had increased following the intervention, and 100% of participants stated that the intervention was helpful in learning US-guided peripheral IV insertion.

Conclusions

Education and hands-on skills sessions increased provider confidence in US use. While this project focused on educational training of CRNAs, this is applicable to all health care providers who are responsible for IV cannulation. The project team members will disseminate these findings and plan to improve perioperative nurses’ confidence in US-guided peripheral IV insertions; thus, improving efficiency in the operative setting.