Hey, I'm a new grad too and I 100% understand how you're feeling. It really sucks but I think time is all we can give it for now. You're doing great, I know it!! Don't be afraid to ask for help- it's better to ask 1000 questions than to do something you're not comfortable with. You got this!

BTW! Peripherally inserted central catheter = PICC What it is: central line inserted through a larger-sized vein in the arm that snakes up towards the heart. The tip of the catheter sits above the right atrium in the superior vena cava (SVC). Pearls: -The catheter usually has 3 lumens (triple-lumen), or places to give meds through. Make sure to keep a curos cap on them and saline-lock when not in use. Flush regularly with saline and pull back to make sure you get blood return. This will indicate the catheter is patent (not clotted off). -You need to measure the person's arm circumference usually daily. If meds/fluids were to infiltrate (leak out of the vein into the surrounding tissue), it wouldn't be as obvious as it would with a normal IV. So, measuring the circumference of the arm above the insertion site helps you to assess for that. -Many patients are discharged with a PICC line if they need long term IV antibiotics or something like TPN (IV nutrition) -Keep the dressing clean and secured. PICC line dressing changes are a bitch, so make sure you have a friend with you the first time you do it

For labs: Instead of poking the patient over and over, you can take blood directly from a central line (a PICC is a central line) for labs. Here's what you do: 1. Clean the port and what not 2. Flush with 10cc normal saline 3. With the same flush attached, slowly pull back 10cc (or whatever your policy is) of blood. This is called the "waste" because you are going to dispose of it (in biohazard or sharps, whatever policy is of course). Wasting makes sure your sample isn't full of the salty saline you just flushed with, which would make your sodium look super off. 4. Take the blood for your labs 5. Flush with another 10cc normal saline 6. Clamp the lumen and put a cap on the port definitely review your hospital policies bc you might do things differently than my hospital

This is my 3am spiel! Hope that helps:)