The Association for Vascular Access (AVA) and B. Braun Medical Inc. (B. Braun) announced the launch of the second of three courses that will provide pre-licensure students in approved nursing, medical and allied healthcare academic programs hands-on training for insertion of peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVCs).
The Fundamentals of Peripheral Intravenous Vascular Access academic curriculum is free to qualified universities and colleges in the U.S. and Internationally.
PIV 201, which is available for the Spring 2022 semester, builds on the PIV 101 foundational course that launched for the Fall semester of 2021. The final course, PIV 301, is a certificate course to be launched in October 2022 that will focus on advanced concepts of vascular access, improving patient outcomes and critical thinking in vascular access.
The comprehensive curriculum on the placement of PIVCs are offered free to medical, nursing, respiratory therapy, and other allied healthcare schools.
Vascular access is the most common invasive procedure performed in healthcare, with more than 380 million placements of PIVCs in patients annually in the United States. However, between 33 percent and 69 percent of PIVCs fail before the completion of treatment and more than 50 percent of adults describe insertion as moderately painful or worse. Collectively, this can lead to serious implications for patients, including increased costs and length of treatment.
Peripheral vascular harm was named to ECRI’s top 10 patient safety concerns in 2021. ECRI is an independent non-profit organization focused on healthcare quality, patient safety and evidence-based healthcare guidance.
“AVA’s goal is to elevate the knowledge and skills of all healthcare providers who routinely insert PIVCs, mid-lines and central lines as part of their in-patient, out-patient and home care practices,” said Judy Thompson, MSNEd, RN, VA-BC, AVA Director of Clinical Education. “AVA and B. Braun partnered on this free academic curriculum because patients deserve a safe, infection-free, comfortable VA procedure from novice clinicians. We want to take the fear and discomfort out of the equation for both patients and providers.”
AVA has committed that the 3-part Fundamentals course will always be free to college and university healthcare pre-licensure programs through the AVA Vascular Access Education program. When schools include the curriculum in their programs, enrolled students and teaching faculty receive a free membership to AVA, allowing unlimited access to continuing education on advanced topics in vascular access.
