Welcome

The Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN) Vascular Access Program is a selection of courses aiming to provide the fundamental skills and knowledge of vascular access topics. These currently include; Venepuncture, Peripheral Intravenous Catheter Insertion & Totally Implanted Vascular Access Device.

All staff are required to have the appropriate level of training prior to undertaking Vascular Access procedures e.g. managing a PICC line, inserting a PIVC, accessing a TIVAD, or Ultrasound guided cannulation ¹²³⁴. Vascular access is a time of increased risk of complications, infection and injury to patients. Data from Australia and overseas indicate that a significant proportion of patients do not receive best practice care for their vascular access devices at time of insertion and ongoing management ⁵.

Aim: The intention of this course is to improve the knowledge and practice gap between guideline recommendations and current practice, in order to reduce the rates of complications and patient harm.

Intended Audience: CALHN Nursing Staff requiring accreditation in one or more of the Vascular Access Specialty Courses.

Key Documents:
* Network access required to view

• Our Commitment to Quality - CALHN*
• National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards

References:

1. Venepuncture for Blood & Blood Culture Specimen Collection*
   
2. Peripheral Intravenous Catheter (PIVC): Insertion, Care, Management and Removal*
   
3. Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC) – Care and Maintenance*
   
4. Implantable Ports: Central Venous*
   
5. Management of Peripheral Intravenous Catheters Clinical Care Standard (2021)
   

How this Program Works

Step One: Complete the Fundamentals of Vascular Access course, accessible via this link.

Please note - It will take about an hour for the system to recognise your completion before you are able to continue to the next step.

Step Two: Once this pre-requisite is marked Complete you will then be able to enrol into the specialty courses from this program page below. This page will become accessible via the Training Programs box to the left of the My Learning Overview heading on your dashboard.

Complete at least one of the speciality courses. The course completion criteria for these can be found at the start of each package. They may have different steps from each other.

Please note - This CALHN Vascular Access Program will only indicate completion once Fundamentals of Vascular Access and at least one of the specialty courses are marked Complete. 

Support and Contact Details

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the content of this course, please contact Central Nurse Education.

Email: Health.CALHNnursingeducation@sa.gov.au
Phone: 08 7074 3500

For technical enquires regarding course access, or completion status, please email the Learning Central Team via support@centraladelaidelhn.zendesk.com.