Reducing peripherally inserted central catheters and midline catheters by training nurses in ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous catheter placement.

Background: Training nurses in ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous catheter placement might reduce the use of more invasive venous access devices (peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC) and midline catheters).

Methods: We implemented an abbreviated training in ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous catheter placement for nurses on an inpatient medical unit and provided a portable ultrasound device for 10 months.

Results: Nurses on this unit placed 99 ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous catheters with a high level of success.

Assessing the Effectiveness of Engaging Patients and Their Families in the Three-Step Fall Prevention Process Across Modalities of an Evidence-Based Fall Prevention Toolkit: An Implementation Science Study.

Background: Patient falls are a major problem in hospitals. The development of a Patient-Centered Fall Prevention Toolkit, Fall TIPS (Tailoring Interventions for Patient Safety), reduced falls by 25% in acute care hospitals by leveraging health information technology to complete the 3-step fall prevention process-(1) conduct fall risk assessments; (2) develop tailored fall prevention plans with the evidence-based interventions; and (3) consistently implement the plan. We learned that Fall TIPS was most effective when patients and family were engaged in all 3 steps of the fall prevention process.