Procedure/Skill Evaluation
Student:________________________________ Level: □ EMT- I A CC P Date:___________________
Time: _____
Evaluator:_______________________________ Start:________ End:________ Total:________Pass/Fail ___
Intravenous Access Using Saline Lock
Conditions
The candidate should perform this skill on a simulated patient under existing indoor,
ambulance, or outdoor lighting, temperature, and weather conditions. Establish patent
intravenous line within 6 minutes.
Indications
A patient who requires or may potentially require administration of fluids or intravenous
medications.
Red Flags
Prep the site with as much aseptic technique as possible under field conditions. Do not
to start an IV on the same arm as a dialysis shunt. IV infiltration, especially when
medications are being administered, can cause serious and irreversible tissue damage.
Do not use areas of burned skin or heavy vein scarring.
Don appropriate standard precautions
Prepare Equipment – Saline Lock
Prepare saline lock
Draw approximately 10 ml of normal saline into syringe
Check date, clarity
Select saline lock/extension set
Connect syringe to saline lock, flush out air
Disconnect syringe and refill with saline to 10 ml
Reconnect syringe to saline lock
Prepare cannulation equipment
Select proper size angiocath
Consider intended use (e.g., fluid therapy, medication line)
Consider size, fragility of vein
Gather tourniquet, gauze pad, alcohol prep, tape/commercial securing device
Prepare blood draw equipment, if needed
Prepare Equipment – IV Fluids
Proper fluid (1) Clarity (1) Expiration (1)
Select appropriate administration set
Connects IV tubing to the IV bag
Prepares administration set (fills drip chamber and flushes tubing)
Prepare Cannulation Site
Apply tourniquet or blood pressure cuff (inflated to just below diastolic BP)
Proximal to wrist for hand veins
Proximal to elbow for forearm veins
Select site
Between knuckles, dorsal thumb, back of hands, ventral forearms, ventral elbow
Palpate and look for veins that are straight and do not bifurcate nearby
Cleanse site
