Sjuksköterskors kliniska beslutsfattande med fokus på perifera venkatetrar (PVK)

Sammanfattning: Every working shift nurses make several decisions, including decisions about management of peripheral venous catheters (PVC). Peripheral catheterisation is a common procedure, which affects numerous patients in health care today. PVC are for example used for intravenous infusions with antibiotics, nutrients and blood components. Having PVC in situ may lead to complications such as thrombophlebitis. Clinical guidelines have been developed within the area to assist nurses in their decision-making, but clinical guidelines are not always adhered to. There are several reasons why clinicians do not always adhere to clinical guidelines, although such adherence may lead to fewer complications. Choices for decisions regarding PVC management have been investigated in previous studies, but not in a naturalistic setting. The overall aim of this licentiate thesis was to describe nurses’ clinical decision-making through focusing on their adherence to clinical guidelines and their clinical reasoning concerning decisions of PVC. Two studies have been conducted and data were collected during a six-month period, from December 2004 to June 2005. Study I investigated nurses’ adherence to national and local PVC guidelines by focusing on time in situ, site, size and documentation at the dressing. The thrombophlebitis frequency associated with PVC in situ was also investigated. Structured observations through two protocols were carried out and data about 343 PVC were analysed. Study II investigated nurses’ clinical reasoning regarding PVC management and cues and factors of importance in the decision10 making process were analysed. Nurses were observed in their daily work with focus on PVC management. They were interviewed both about the PVC decisions made in the observed situations and about factors influencing their reasoning regarding PVC management in general. The observations facilitated the interviews. Transcribed interview texts were analysed with content analysis. The results in study I showed that thrombophlebitis frequency was 7.0% and the nurses seemed to replace or remove PVC before any severe complications arose in accordance with clinical guidelines. Nurses partly adhered to national and local guidelines concerning site, size, documentation at the dressing and time in situ. Differences in guideline adherence were observed for wards with local or national guidelines, as well as for wards with different specialities. The results indicate that local guidelines may have an impact on guideline adherence but these results need further exploration. Analysis of interview texts in study II resulted in a category system with three main categories describing cues and factors of importance in the nurses’ clinical reasoning about PVC: the individual patient situation, the nurse’s work situation, and experience of PVC management. An overall theme was also revealed in the interview texts and the nurses balance in their clinical reasoning between avoiding or minimizing discomfort and pain for the patient and preventing complications from the PVC. The results from this licentiate thesis have implications for the education of nurses as well as during implementation of clinical guidelines.