Learning Center
Improving Patient Safety and Nurse Efficiency in Catheter Management: A Nurse-Centered Innovation [virtual]
Includes a Live Web Event on 04/13/2026 at 2:45 PM (EDT)
Luer lock connections are essential for managing vascular access devices and equipment used in infusion therapies across inpatient, outpatient, and home care settings. However, due to the difficulty of disconnecting some of these devices, many workarounds have been implemented, leading to possible complications such as medication errors and risk of infection. By learning proper connection and disconnection procedures, these complications, including central line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI), can be reduced and even prevented. This session will discuss the application of systems-based thinking to identify and address disconnection challenges, tool improvisation, and training gaps, resulting in a nurse-centered prototype designed to reduce catheter-related complications, improve patient safety and satisfaction, and decrease health care costs.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, learners will be able to:
- Explain how tool availability and training may influence nurses’ use of workarounds with catheter luer disconnections
- Describe the impact of workarounds on patient safety, catheter management, and nursing workflow efficiency
- Evaluate the benefits of a nurse-centered disconnection device in reducing health care costs and improving patient safety and patient satisfaction outcomes
- Apply evidence-based and systems-based strategies to enhance catheter disconnection practices, including training opportunities across various health care settings
Contact Hours: 1
CRNI® RUs: 2
Amy Cole, PhD, MPS, MS, PMP
Human Factors and Health Services Researcher
UNC School of Medicine
Amy C. Cole, PhD, MPS, MS, PMP, is a Research Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with appointments in the School of Information and Library Science, the Carolina Health Informatics Program, and the Division of Healthcare Engineering in the School of Medicine. She is a human factors and health services researcher whose work spans medical device innovation, digital health, patient‑clinician communication, and values‑driven decision support. Dr Cole focuses on designing and evaluating technologies that improve safety, usability, and overall care experiences for patients, caregivers, and clinicians.
Her portfolio is supported by competitive funding and recognitions across device and digital health innovation, among them a National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NIH [NCATS]) pilot award for prototype development and a U.S. National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (NSF I‑Corps™) grant for customer discovery. She has received national honors, such as the Oley Foundation’s Top Clinical Research Paper Award, the Society for Medical Decision Making’ (SMDM) Anne Stiggelbout Award, and the Dennis Revicki Memorial Award, and was selected for the National Science Foundation (NSF) National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot cohort.
Dr Cole serves nationally as a member of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Rare Disease Advisory Panel and on the SMDM’s Patient Advocacy Council, contributing to national efforts to center patient perspectives in research and innovation.
An experienced speaker, she has presented at leading conferences including International Society for Quality of Life Research (ISOQOL), SMDM, the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare, and Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). She regularly delivers invited talks and workshops on patient‑centered care, human factors, and digital health. Dr Cole’s research often involves simulation‑based methods, co‑design with diverse stakeholders, and mixed‑methods approaches to evaluate and refine innovative health care technologies. She also directs an internship program in patient‑centered care and systems innovation. Her work is driven by a commitment to advancing innovative, patient‑centered solutions that strengthen health care systems and improve outcomes across diverse clinical settings.
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