KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE ON IV CANNULATION AMONG NURSES

ABSTRACT Background: PIVC (Peripherally Intravenous Cannulation) is common invasive procedure in all hospital settings and nurses had a vital role in performing PIVC. It is the only fastest way to deliver any medications to the body. For fruitful insertion of cannulation the trainers should have proper knowledge and practical skills to succeed this procedure with minimum complication and positive client outcome with treatment. The objective was to determine the level of knowledge and practice on IV cannulation and its association with selected demographic and clinical variables. Materials and methods: By using convenience sampling technique 54 participants were recruited based on inclusion criteria. The study was conducted in St. John’s Hospital, Idukki. After gaining informed consent, data was collected by using self-structured questionnaire consisting demographic and clinical characteristics, questions regarding knowledge on IV cannulation and observational checklist for identifying practical skills in IV procedure. Results: Data was statistically analysed using SPSS version 20. Samples of 33(68.8%) had average and 10 (20.8%) had poor knowledge on IVC. Regarding practical performance, 27(56.3%) had average, 16 (33.3%) had good skills in IVC. Whereas 5(10.4%) had very poor practical skills on IVC. This study concluded that knowledge and practical skills in IVC should be improved by attending induction classes which can promote standardised care. Key words: Intravenous cannulation, knowledge, practice, staff nurses.