Peripheral intravenous catheter (PIVC) insertion is a routine procedure in emergency departments (EDs), yet current practice often deviates from evidence-based standards. Research highlights key issues, including unnecessary (idle) catheter insertion, overuse of antecubital fossa (ACF) sites, and limited patient involvement in decision-making. These gaps can lead to avoidable patient harm, reduced comfort, and inefficient use of resources. This intermediate-level session will provide an evidence-informed overview of these challenges and the factors driving them. In this session, we will examine the evidence–practice gap in ED PIVC care and identify practical, patient-centered strategies to improve clinical decision-making and outcomes.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, learners will be able to: 
• Analyze the current gaps between evidence-based guidelines and real-world PIVC practices in emergency departments 
• Evaluate the clinical, behavioral, and system-level factors contributing to suboptimal practices, including ACF insertion and idle catheter use
• Apply evidence-based and patient-centered strategies to improve PIVC decision-making, insertion, and care in the ED setting

CRNI® RUs: This session has been approved for 2 CRNI® recertification units and meets the non INS Meeting criteria.

Contact Hours: This session has been approved for 1 contact hour

Expiration date for receipt of contact hours: May 27, 2029

To receive contact hours for this educational activity, you are required to attend the entire educational activity and complete the evaluation.

The Infusion Nurses Society is approved as a provider of continuing nursing education by the California Board of Registered Nursing, provider #CEP14209. The certificate must be retained by the attendee for a period of 4 years.

INS invites you to join our partner, the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN), for a free educational webinar designed for nurses at all experience levels on Peripheral IV catheter (PIVC) insertion and infusion practices.

PIVC insertion and management are essential skills across all care settings, yet practice variation and persistent myths can increase the risk of complications such as infection, phlebitis, extravasation, and occlusion. This webinar will examine common misconceptions in PIV insertion and peripherally administered infusion therapy, and present evidence-based strategies to improve patient safety and clinical outcomes.

Presenter Details:

Barb Nickel, APRN-CNS, CCRN, CRNI, is a nationally recognized nurse leader, educator, and researcher. Ms. Nickel is chair of the 2027 INS Standards of Practice Committee and has extensive experience in staff development, infusion therapy, and practice improvement across multiple clinical settings.

What You’ll Learn:

• Best practices for optimal PIVC placement
• Aseptic technique throughout the device life span
• Safe peripheral medication administration
• Early recognition and prevention of common complications

How To Register: Enter code INSWEBFREE at the bottom of the course overview page under “Apply Redeem Coupon. "Note: You will be prompted to create a free AMSN account to enroll.

REGISTER NOW

Peripheral intravenous catheter (PIVC) practices often vary across clinicians and care settings, contributing to inconsistencies in care and increased risk of complications. This session will review current organizational practices and highlight common variations identified in the literature, while discussing evidence-based standards for PIVC insertion, assessment, and maintenance, including site selection, aseptic non-touch technique (ANTT®), and standardized assessment tools such as i-DECIDED. The presentation will also share results from a quality improvement initiative aimed at reducing practice variation through product standardization, insertion checklists, competency-based education, and validation audits. Outcomes related to adherence and infection prevention will be discussed, along with practical strategies for translating quality improvement results into sustainable organizational practice change.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, learners will be able to: 
• Discuss the existing concerns with PIVC practices
• Describe the professional standards and recommendations for PIVC practice
• Demonstrate actions to eliminate discrepancies between existing practices and professional standards
• Apply quality improvement (QI) project results to organizational practice change 

CRNI® RUs: This session has been approved for 2 CRNI® recertification units and meets the non INS Meeting criteria.

Contact Hours: This session has been approved for 1 contact hour

Expiration date for receipt of contact hours: April 22, 2029

To receive contact hours for this educational activity, you are required to attend the entire educational activity and complete the evaluation.

The Infusion Nurses Society is approved as a provider of continuing nursing education by the California Board of Registered Nursing, provider #CEP14209. The certificate must be retained by the attendee for a period of 4 years.

Presented by BD

Catheter-associated thrombosis (CAT) is a potential complication of vascular access devices, including PICCs, that can result in therapy interruption, increased cost of care, and patient consequences including phlebitis and pulmonary embolism, and there are multiple modifiable (e.g., catheter size, insertion, and location confirmation methods) and non-modifiable risk factors for CAT. A retrospective study of patients with PICCs placed by vascular access nurses was conducted following a quality improvement initiative at a hospital within a 1200-bed health system in the Philadelphia area, and a pre-post analysis compared CAT rates before and after a multi-year intervention targeting modifiable risk factors. Across the health system, very low CAT rates (1.2%) were observed in the post-intervention period compared with a pre-intervention rate of 4.6%, and for every 1,000 PICC placements the economic model predicted cost savings exceeding $1M USD due to avoided thrombosis, demonstrating that small improvements to controllable elements of catheter care can result in significant reductions in the risk of CAT and associated costs.

CRNI® RUs: 2

CRNI® RUs: This session has been approved for 2 CRNI® recertification units and meets the non INS Meeting criteria.

Vascular access clinicians operate in a context where research evidence, guidelines, and best-practice recommendations are often widely available, yet practice and patient outcomes remain variable. This variability reflects persistent knowledge–practice gaps and the challenges health services, researchers, and clinicians face in implementing new evidence and changing established clinical practice.

This session focuses on practical methods to implement vascular access evidence into everyday practice and promote the sustained uptake over time. Using real-world case exemplars from central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) prevention and device assessment initiatives, the session will demonstrate how to embed evidence into clinical workflows, assign clear ownership, and measure fidelity and outcomes. The session will focus on actionable strategies clinicians can use in their health services to drive change through translation. 

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, learners will be able to: 
• Describe common reasons evidence fails to translate into routine vascular access practice, including workflow misalignment, lack of ownership, and inadequate measurement of fidelity
• Discuss practical implementation strategies that embed evidence into everyday vascular access workflows, including standardization, decision support, audit and feedback, and accountability structures
• Explain how to design simple but robust measurement systems (process, outcome, and balancing measures) to evaluate implementation success and support sustained practice change

CRNI® RUs: This session has been approved for 2 CRNI® recertification units and meets the non INS Meeting criteria.

Contact Hours: This session has been approved for 1 contact hour

Expiration date for receipt of contact hours: March 18, 2029

To receive contact hours for this educational activity, you are required to attend the entire educational activity and complete the evaluation.

The Infusion Nurses Society is approved as a provider of continuing nursing education by the California Board of Registered Nursing, provider #CEP14209. The certificate must be retained by the attendee for a period of 4 years.