Reflect Clinical Portfolio: A PICC Line Dressing Exercise

In the past, I had a chance to participate in a PICC line dressing exercise. The exercise was part of my nursing skills evaluation exercise. During the evaluation exercise, the Infection Control Coordinator also arrived in the ward where I was administering the PICC line dressing service to a patient. The Infection Control Coordinator also decided to act as an observant of my PICC line dressing exercise. Nevertheless, I explained to her that it was my first time to perform the PICC line dressing exercise. Additionally, I asked her whether I could seek the guidance of the senior nurse in-charge of the PICC line dressing exercise on areas where I was not sure how to execute the task.

This is even though I had learned, theoretically, about the PICC line dressing tasks procedure on the education website. Additionally, I had printed out the PICC line dressing protocol for the task. The protocol acted as a guide for me on the requirements and steps that I required to execute the task. Also, I became slightly nervous when the Infection Control Coordinator pointed out some areas that I needed to correct in my PICC line dressing exercise. Consequently, this made me take 45 minutes to complete the task, although the optimum time for the PICC line dressing exercise is 10 minutes.

Furthermore, during the PICC line dressing exercise, I felt very nervous and a little scared. This feeling was brought about by reason that I had to execute the PICC line dressing exercise under the supervision of two senior nurses at the institution. Moreover, the senior supervisors were there to evaluate my performance in terms of how effective I completed the task. As such, I felt a little anxious in producing a good performance for the supervisions so that I could attain a high score in the PICC line dressing practical. In summation, all these factors immensely influenced my feelings in the successful execution of the PICC line dressing task.

Nevertheless, participating in the PICC line dressing exercise was a good experience for me. It offered me a chance to experience the challenges that I might encounter in the future while performing the same task under supervision. I also attained a good chance of understanding that I need more practice in performing the PICC line dressing exercise. However, I also experienced a few problems when executing the task. First, I realized that the sterile gloves had to be changed after the dressing had been removed. This was a problem for me because I had not opened all the dressing pack and made the flush ready. Additionally, I realized that I should have made sure that all the dressing areas had been cleaned sufficiently using the Chlorhexidine Scrub and also dried properly.

Moreover, I believe that the primary reason why I was nervous during the PICC line dressing removal exercise was that I lacked confidence in myself to execute the task successfully. I also lacked practical experience in executing the task because it was my first time to perform a PICC line dressing removal exercise. Additionally, performing the task under the supervision of the Infection Control Coordinator made me more nervous. I believe that my nervousness during the exercise was normal since the other undergraduate students who participated in the PICC line dressing exercise confirmed to me that they also were nervous. In addition, the undergraduate students also felt that they would also benefit from more practices, to successfully execute the PICC line dressing exercise correctly.

After completing the PICC line dressing removal, I concluded that it is always good to read the procedures protocol. It is, also, critical to for a person to ensure that he/she understands the whole task sufficiently. It is also good to ask the senior nurses for advice or help before starting the task. Additionally, it is important to collect and prepare the procedure equipment, such as the dressing park and flush ready the commencement of the procedure. Moreover, it is important to change the sterile glover once the dressing has been removed as per the defined guidelines of the PICC line dressing removal exercise. Lastly, it is essential to create a good communication with the patient, to ensure that he/she is comfortable or relaxed during the exercise.

In the future, before attending such an exercise, I plan to attend the PICC line dressing removal workshop that is held regularly at the hospital. This way, I will be in a position to gain more experience in executing a PICC line dressing removal. The exercise will beneficial to me promoting my skills in PICC line dressing removal because I will perform the exercise under a qualified instructor. Ultimately, after completing the workshop training, I will try the PICC line dressing removal practical under the supervision of a senior nurse. This will build my confidence and refine my skills in executing the PICC line dressing removal.