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Ask A Magnet Nurse

Specially Trained Nurses Help Patients Receive Meds, Nutrition And More For Long-Term Treatment

Cindy Zambito RN
Vascular Access Team
St. Joseph’s/Candler

SJ/C Nurse Cindy Zambito

Smart Living: You are part of a team of nurses that for many years were known as PICC nurses, because of your specialized training in administering peripherally inserted central catheters for patients who needed more than a regular IV. Now you are known as the Vascular Access Team. Does the new name reflect a more expanded role?

Cindy Zambito: Yes, we have evolved and can utilize different methods of IV therapy depending on the patient’s needs. All of the nurses on our team are board-certified in vascular access. We take great care in figuring out what is the right line for each patient. If a bedside nurse is having difficulty accessing a patient’s vein for the most common type of IV, known as a peripheral IV, they can consult us. We will go through the patient’s history to make a determination on what is best for the patient. Our goal is to get patients from the beginning to the end of their stay with the least amount of needle sticks.

For patients needing IV therapy for more than four or five days, we use a midline catheter in a larger vein. For those who require weeks or months, we place a central venous catheter, or what we call a central line or PICC line. PICC lines are appropriate for chemotherapy patients and those who need long-term antibiotic therapy or nutritional supplements.

SL: How are central lines placed?

CZ: We are guided by ultrasound. We are able to see exactly where we are going with the needle. We guide it into either the internal jugular vein in the neck, the subclavian vein below your collarbone or the femoral vein in the inner thigh. Then the needle is replaced with the catheter, and patients have a line through which they can receive their medications, and from which nurses can draw blood. Our motto is “one stick, that’s it.”

SL: How do patients respond to needing treatment from a vascular access nurse?

CZ: It can be an unnerving experience because placing a line is a complicated, sterile procedure. We talk to the patient, always letting them know what we are doing, to help alleviate their fears. Once the line is in place, they are so relieved and grateful. It’s gratifying for us to see how patients are more at ease because one of their most common anxieties—getting stuck a lot during their stay—is now gone. 

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