Nurses' Short Peripheral Catheter Flushing Practices: Implications for Patient Care, Nursing Education, and Policy.

Nursing practice and institutional policies regarding short peripheral catheter (SPC) flushing vary. These variations result in a lack of understanding about the factors that influence nurses' SPC flushing practices and leave their effect on outcomes unexplored-information that could potentially enhance nurses' clinical education, institutional policy efforts, and patient care. Using a mixed-methods design, this study examined SPC flushing practices and outcomes among a cohort of medical-surgical nurses and explored their rationale for flushing. Trends were noted in the timing of flushes, and the factors that influenced nurses' SPC flushing practices included patient acuity, experience, and workload.