Research ArticleINNOVATIVE PROGRAM
Open Access

Use of a Novel Training Aid for Teaching the Nursing Care of Central Venous Catheters

Michael D. Smith, Christie Poindexter, Ashlee Ellington and Richard Guthrie
Ochsner Journal December 2025, 25 (4) 248-253; DOI: https://doi.org/10.31486/toj.25.0042

Abstract

Background The occurrence of central venous catheter infections is a metric that hospital systems track. We determined that central line–associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) at our institution occurred in a delayed fashion, prompting us to raise the question of whether the infections were related to insertion or to catheter care and then to design a training simulation focused on how to change the dressing for central venous catheters.

Methods Using low-cost equipment, such as refrigerator magnets and tape, we constructed a reusable SorbaView SHIELD Contour (Centurion Medical Products Corporation) sterile central line dressing for use in training.

Results This cost-effective simulation innovation gives staff who care for central venous catheters the opportunity to practice the manual skills involved in dressing changes and eliminates the problem of expending a single-use dressing with each learner experience. The magnetic dressings can be reused as long as the integrity of the SorbaView SHIELD Contour is preserved.

Conclusion We hope that ongoing training with this simulation model, along with demonstration of competency, will result in standardized central line care and a decrease in CLABSI rates at our institution.

Keywords:

INTRODUCTION

Central venous catheters (CVCs) are vascular access devices commonly used in the care of critically ill patients, especially those requiring vasopressor support. However, a challenge associated with central venous catheter use is the potential for development of central line–associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) that are linked to increased morbidity and mortality risks1 and additional costs/length of stay.2 We determined that the majority of CLABSIs at our institution were delayed and thus likely attributable to the care of the catheter rather than the actual insertion of the catheter.3 While much training has been devoted to the sterile insertion of the catheter, we sought to improve nursing training in the care of the catheter site.

We know that hands-on simulation instruction followed by debriefing is an effective teaching approach that results in more knowledge retention compared to a traditional didactic lecture.2 However, the $153.91 (USD) price of 50 SorbaView SHIELD Contour (Centurion Medical Products Corporation) sterile central line dressings was cost-prohibitive for training use, thus limiting the nurses’ training to verbal instruction only. To address the lack of hands-on instruction, we developed a magnet-based CVC dressing change trainer that can be reused. With our dressing change trainer, nurses can practice proper technique without the institution incurring the high costs associated with single-use dressings during training.

METHODS

Central Venous Catheter Dressing Change Trainer Materials Required

The Table lists the materials required to construct the CVC dressing change trainer and provides approximate costs and sources for each component.

View this table:
Table.

Materials, Approximate Costs, and Sources for the Central Venous Catheter Dressing Change Trainer

Central Venous Catheter Dressing Change Trainer Construction Steps

Figures 1 and 2 show the completed central venous catheter dressing change trainer in place on the central line training manikin in the simulation center. Illustrated step-by-step instructions for constructing the trainer are provided in this section.

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.

  1. Preparing the Adhesive Sides of the Dressing Pieces

    1. Peel off the 2 backing pieces of the larger of the 2 SorbaView SHIELD Contour dressing pieces to expose the adhesive side. Do not discard the backing pieces.

    2. Use a pen to mark 5 magnet placement sites (A through E) on the circumference of the adhesive side of the SorbaView SHIELD Contour dressing (Figure 3).

      Figure 3.
      Figure 3.

    3. Place one 6-mm × 3-mm circular refrigerator magnet on each of the 5 marked sites (Figure 4). When placing the magnets on the dressing, ensure magnets are oriented with matching polarity.

      Figure 4.
      Figure 4.

    4. Use small but appropriately sized pieces of office tape to secure the magnets to the dressing (Figure 5).

      Figure 5.
      Figure 5.

    5. Cover the dressing and magnets with a 4" × 4-3/4" Tegaderm transparent film dressing (Figure 6). Pull off the paper tab and trim any excess film.

      Figure 6.
      Figure 6.

    6. Peel off the 2 backing pieces of the smaller of the 2 SorbaView SHIELD Contour dressing pieces to expose the adhesive side. Do not discard the backing pieces.

    7. With the formerly adhesive side of the larger dressing piece facing up, align the holes of both dressings, ensuring the adhesive side of the smaller dressing piece is also facing up (Figure 7). The smaller dressing piece should be over magnet placements A and B of the larger dressing piece.

      Figure 7.
      Figure 7.

    8. Use a pen to mark 2 magnet placement sites (1 and 2) on the adhesive side of the smaller dressing piece so that site 1 is directly on top of site A and site 2 is directly on top of site B (Figure 7).

    9. Place one 6-mm × 3-mm circular refrigerator magnet on each magnet placement site on the smaller dressing and secure with office tape (Figure 8). Ensure magnets are oriented with the same polarity as the larger dressing.

      Figure 8.
      Figure 8.

    10. Cover the dressing and magnets with a 2-3/8" × 2-3/4" Tegaderm transparent film dressing (Figure 9). Pull off the paper tab and trim any excess film.

      Figure 9.
      Figure 9.

  2. Preparing the Backing Sides of the Dressing Pieces

    1. Use an emery board nail file to buff off the waxy topcoat of the unbranded side of all 4 backing pieces (Figure 10). This step results in better adhesion of the magnets.

      Figure 10.
      Figure 10.

    2. With the nonadhesive side of the larger of the 2 SorbaView SHIELD Contour dressing pieces facing up, align the 2 backing pieces on top in their original orientation, ensuring the freshly buffed sides are facing up (Figure 11). The smaller backing piece should be over magnet placements A and B of the dressing.

      Figure 11.
      Figure 11.

    3. Use a pen to mark 5 magnet placement sites (F through J) on the buffed side of the 2 backing pieces so that site F is directly on top of site B, site G is on top of site A, site H is on top of site E, site I is on top of site D, and site J is on top of site C (Figure 11).

    4. Place one 6-mm × 3-mm circular refrigerator magnet on each marking, ensuring magnets are oriented with the same matching polarity as all previous magnets, and secure with office tape.

    5. Place a 4" × 4-3/4" Tegaderm transparent film dressing over the magnets and buffed backing of the larger of the 2 backing pieces to secure magnets. Pull off the paper tab and trim any excess film.

    6. Place a 2-3/8" × 2-3/4" Tegaderm transparent film dressing over the magnets and buffed backing of the smaller of the 2 backing pieces to secure magnets. Pull off the paper tab and trim any excess film.

    7. With the nonadhesive side of the smaller of the 2 SorbaView SHIELD Contour dressing pieces facing up, align the 2 backing pieces on top in their original orientation, ensuring the freshly buffed sides are facing up (Figure 12). The backing pieces should be over magnet placements 1 and 2 of the smaller dressing.

      Figure 12.
      Figure 12.

    8. Use a pen to mark 2 magnet placement sites (3 and 4) on the buffed side of the dressing so that site 3 is directly on top of site 2 and site 4 is on top of site 1.

    9. Place one 6-mm × 3-mm circular refrigerator magnet on each marking, ensuring magnets are oriented with the same matching polarity as all previous magnets, and secure with office tape.

    10. Place a 2-3/8" × 2-3/4" Tegaderm transparent film dressing over the magnets and backing for the smaller dressing. Pull off the paper tab and trim any excess film.

    11. All components of the dressings should now attach to each other.

  3. Preparing the Task Trainer

    1. Place the larger of the 2 dressing pieces in the appropriate place on the central line training manikin (Figure 13).

      Figure 13.
      Figure 13.

    2. Use a pen to mark 5 magnet placement sites on the manikin (Figure 14).

      Figure 14.
      Figure 14.

    3. Use an 8-mm biopsy punch to make holes where the marks on the manikin are.

    4. Put a drop of cyanoacrylate in each hole and place one 6-mm × 3-mm circular refrigerator magnet in the hole, ensuring magnets are oriented with the same matching polarity as all previous magnets.

    5. Cover the holes and magnets with pieces of office tape to help the magnets set appropriately in cyanoacrylate.

    6. Use moulage gel and a dab of liquid makeup foundation to cover the magnets and blend with the color of the manikin.

RESULTS

This innovation in simulated central line dressing care eliminates the problem of expending a single-use dressing with each learner experience. The magnetic dressing can be reused as long as the integrity of the SorbaView SHIELD Contour dressing is preserved. To help with the preservation of this reusable dressing, we recommend placing an additional Tegaderm transparent film dressing on the top sides of both SorbaView SHIELD Contour pieces.

One change planned for future iterations of this model is to use larger plate magnets in the central line training manikin to make application of the dressing easier (rather than having to match small magnet to small magnet).

DISCUSSION

This innovation allows the learner to complete the tactile tasks involved with central line care at a lower cost per education session and has the potential to help reduce the problem of delayed CLABSI. We plan to study the impact of this innovation on CLABSI occurrence at our institution.

CONCLUSION

We hope to reduce CLABSI rates by increasing hands-on training through required onboarding simulation courses for individuals who care for central lines. The goal of this approach is to lower the morbidity, mortality, hospital stays, and health care costs associated with CLABSIs.

This article meets the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the American Board of Medical Specialties Maintenance of Certification competencies for Patient Care, Medical Knowledge, and Practice-Based Learning and Improvement.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors have no financial or proprietary interest in the subject matter of this article.

©2025 by the author(s); licensee Ochsner Journal, Ochsner Clinic Foundation, New Orleans, LA. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode) that permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.

REFERENCES

  1. 1.↵
    1. Lutufyo T,
    2. Li Y,
    3. Han H,
    4. Qin W,
    5. Mranda GM,
    6. Chen X
    . Five-year surveillance of central line associated bloodstream infection in an intensive care unit population–a retrospective analysis. Adv Infect Dis. 2022;12(2):281-297. doi: 10.4236/aid.2022.122023
    OpenUrlCrossRef
  2. 2.↵
    1. Barsuk JH,
    2. Cohen ER,
    3. Mikolajczak A,
    4. Seburn S,
    5. Slade M,
    6. Wayne DB
    . Simulation-based mastery learning improves central line maintenance skills of ICU nurses. J Nurs Adm. 2015;45(10):511-517. doi: 10.1097/NNA.0000000000000243
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  3. 3.↵
    1. Haddadin Y,
    2. Annamaraju P,
    3. Regunath H
    . Central Line–Associated Blood Stream Infections. In: StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; November 26, 2022.
Back to top

In this issue

Print
Download PDF
Email Article
Citation Tools

Jump to section

Keywords