Vascular Access Teams are increasing in popularity in acute care settings. Nurses have become aware of the need for a VAT to assist in the care and maintenance of all vascular access devices. This team has become a great resource for the staff nurse caring for the patient with a device. They are called upon to insert PIV’s in the “difficult” patient, assist the nurse with trouble shooting lines and be a resource for the staff nurse caring for the patient with a device. The team creates policies and procedures, implements evidenced based practice, educates staff on catheter clearance, line removal, lab sampling. These nurses are skilled in PICC line insertion and have become respected by physicians and are often called to assist the physician in CVC insertion. This team is responsible for educating staff, educating the patient, inserting PICC lines, reviewing the patients medical record to determine the appropriate device needed and reporting infection rates. Having administrations support for this team is crucial to the teams success. Have your CFO or VP of nursing attend your meetings. They can support the need for this team. The patient safety movement and the need to decrease costs, decrease patients length of stay and increase patient satisfaction scores has justified the need for this team.
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