findingher
New member
I'm going to try my best, haha.
1. Wash hands.
2. Open kit, being careful not to touch the inside of the container, or the sterile field's inside. Put on mask.
3. At this point, I open things like alcohol wipes, the port needle, once again, being careful not to touch the item, only the outside packaging. I shake them out onto the sterile field. I've watched my nurses do alcohol wipes two ways, one, is to rip the wipe package in half one way, then turn it and rip it in half the other way, then shake out the wipes onto the sterile field. The other way, is to open them before, use medical tape to hold them to a table edge or something, but without them ever touching anything! This is important!
4. Now, I prepare my flushes. My saline, and heparin are NOT meant to be put on a sterile field, so my nurse told me to prep them, but place them on the very EDGE of the sterile field.
5.Put on sterile gloves. First glove, only touch the folded cuff. Second glove, you can use the other gloved hand to touch the other glove. ONLY the parts of the glove that will not be in contact with your skin!
6. I use the alcohol prep thingie that comes in my kit. It's a sponge on a handle, basically. Starting on the port, in a circular motion, moving outward from the port, I rub the skin for 30 seconds. I basically do 10 seconds on the port, 10 seconds on the skin immediately surrounding it, 10 seconds on the skin outside of that. Remember, inner, to outer.
7. I let that air for 30 seconds. During that time, I set up my port needle, alcohol wipe it, and then fill it with sterile water to remove air. Clamp.
8. I close my eyes, pray, and stab randomly till I feel the port. I kid! I use a makeup mirror with a light (already set up before I wash my hands). I feel for the metal edges of my port, feel for the mushy rubber, and decide where I'm going to stab.
9. Stab. A tip I've been told is to take a deep breath when pushing, as it helps to "meet" the needle.
10. Once in, I unclamp, start to flush about 5cc's of the 10cc flush I used to fill the syringe. At 5 CC's, I then draw back, but I don't draw back much at all. Just enough to let me know it's in correctly. I've heard too much blood drawing can shorten the life of your port, an d I want this sucker to stay forever.
11. Finish flushing with saline, then alcohol wipe again, use heparin. Clamp! Pull out needle! Be proud you've done it yourself! Take off the gloves and mask, too. They suck.
I hope this helps. This is how I was told to do it, but you might get different answers from other people.
*edited to add sevenstars' thoughts. One other thing I do that is probably not necessary for anyone else, is drink a little juice before I start. I once had a low mid-access, and that is NOT pretty, being behind a mask and in gloves while having a blood sugar low!
1. Wash hands.
2. Open kit, being careful not to touch the inside of the container, or the sterile field's inside. Put on mask.
3. At this point, I open things like alcohol wipes, the port needle, once again, being careful not to touch the item, only the outside packaging. I shake them out onto the sterile field. I've watched my nurses do alcohol wipes two ways, one, is to rip the wipe package in half one way, then turn it and rip it in half the other way, then shake out the wipes onto the sterile field. The other way, is to open them before, use medical tape to hold them to a table edge or something, but without them ever touching anything! This is important!
4. Now, I prepare my flushes. My saline, and heparin are NOT meant to be put on a sterile field, so my nurse told me to prep them, but place them on the very EDGE of the sterile field.
5.Put on sterile gloves. First glove, only touch the folded cuff. Second glove, you can use the other gloved hand to touch the other glove. ONLY the parts of the glove that will not be in contact with your skin!
6. I use the alcohol prep thingie that comes in my kit. It's a sponge on a handle, basically. Starting on the port, in a circular motion, moving outward from the port, I rub the skin for 30 seconds. I basically do 10 seconds on the port, 10 seconds on the skin immediately surrounding it, 10 seconds on the skin outside of that. Remember, inner, to outer.
7. I let that air for 30 seconds. During that time, I set up my port needle, alcohol wipe it, and then fill it with sterile water to remove air. Clamp.
8. I close my eyes, pray, and stab randomly till I feel the port. I kid! I use a makeup mirror with a light (already set up before I wash my hands). I feel for the metal edges of my port, feel for the mushy rubber, and decide where I'm going to stab.
9. Stab. A tip I've been told is to take a deep breath when pushing, as it helps to "meet" the needle.
10. Once in, I unclamp, start to flush about 5cc's of the 10cc flush I used to fill the syringe. At 5 CC's, I then draw back, but I don't draw back much at all. Just enough to let me know it's in correctly. I've heard too much blood drawing can shorten the life of your port, an d I want this sucker to stay forever.
11. Finish flushing with saline, then alcohol wipe again, use heparin. Clamp! Pull out needle! Be proud you've done it yourself! Take off the gloves and mask, too. They suck.
I hope this helps. This is how I was told to do it, but you might get different answers from other people.
*edited to add sevenstars' thoughts. One other thing I do that is probably not necessary for anyone else, is drink a little juice before I start. I once had a low mid-access, and that is NOT pretty, being behind a mask and in gloves while having a blood sugar low!