Question

Critical Thinking Activity: Intravenous Therapy

Activity # 1: Understanding IV Therapy

Fill in the blank

1. The __ tourniquet must be removed immediately after the IV is inserted.
2. The nurse must remove the ___________prior to flushing the j-loop.
3. After the insertion is complete the needle must be disposed of in the __ Sharps container.
4. All staff must wear __gloves_________ when preforming an IV insertion.
5. Hospital __ policy will guide you in specific details of your procedures and outline the format of which to perform them.
6. A patient has an IV in their right wrist area and needs a new IV but you can only use the right upper extremity, when assessing possible locations you know you cannot use the patient’s right _hand_ as a possible site.­­
7. Why is it important not to re touch the site once you have cleansed the area, prior to starting an IV?_____________
8. Never let _________ of the cath until you have connected it to the j-loop and secured it by tenting with a piece of tape.
9. True or False, after securing the j-loop with a piece of tape, any blood around the site should be wiped off at some time prior to dressing the site?___________
10. True or False, the actual IV cath, that is inserted and left in the patient’s vein is a plastic flexible piece that can be bent or kinked very easily if not handled properly?________________
11. What is the purpose or the main reason of priming the saline lock with normal saline prior to connecting it to the newly inserted IV catheter? _____________________________________________________________________________________________

Answer 1

The tourniquet must be removed immediately after the IV is inserted.

The nurse must remove tourniquet prior to flushing the j-loop.

After the insertion is complete the needle must be disposed of in the Sharps container.

All staff must wear gloves when preforming an IV insertion.

Hospital policy will guide you in specific details of your procedures and outline the format of which to perform them.

A patient has an IV in their right wrist area and needs a new IV but you can only use the right upper extremity, when assessing possible locations you know you cannot use the patient’s right hand as a possible site.­­

It is recommended not to re touch the site once it has been cleansed the area, prior to starting an IV to ensure the antisepsis as it may cause contamination at that site of injection i.e. IV site.

Never let go of the cath until you have connected it to the j-loop and secured it by tenting with a piece of tape.

The statement is true as after securing the j-loop with a piece of tape it is advised to wipe off any blood around the site at some time prior to dressing the site to mitigate the chances of further contamination as well as to secure the dressing.

The statement is true as the actual IV cath, that is inserted and left in the patient’s vein is made of a flexible plastic piece and it can easily bent or kinked if not handled properly, hence patient is advised not to bend the arm.

The purpose of priming the saline lock with normal saline prior to connecting it to the newly inserted IV catheter is to remove all the air before inserting the IV tube in the patient, as this air may enter the circulatory system causing the destruction of the blood corpuscles and may lead to death.