It has been a busy year for the Ingram School of Nursing’s (ISoN) Vascular Access Student Club (VASC), a student-led initiative that promotes excellence in vascular access education at McGill. As noted by ISoN Assistant Professor Caroline Marchionni, intravenous insertion is a difficult skill that takes practice to master. “The beauty of VASC is that the students themselves seek out additional opportunities for training.”
Last March, VASC hosted an ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous (USG-PIV) insertion workshop in French, attended by 30 upper-level students. During this session, students learned how to use ultrasound to visualize peripheral veins to improve first-stick success when inserting an IV. Sponsored by B.Braun Canada, and FUJIFILM Sonosite Canada, this event featured simulated practice and expert guidance from David-Alexandre Morin of the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec. “The training was similar to what is provided in real clinical settings for becoming certified in this essential skill,” explains VASC President Marnie O’Brien, a third-year BScN student.
In late April, along with fellow student Emma Lockett, Ms. O’Brien represented the ISoN’s VASC at the 2024 National Canadian Vascular Access Association conference in Winnipeg, attended by experts and innovators in the field. In addition to showcasing VASC, the ISoN students won two prizes. These included the 2024 People's Choice Award and second place for their research poster titled "Undergraduate Nursing Student and Industry Partnership: An Opportunity for Advanced Learning," co-authored by Caroline Marchionni, William Landry, Vivianne Kupoviks, Samantha Lau, and Maria Damian.
The Club extends its gratitude to the ISoN, the Nursing Undergraduate Society and sponsor Covalon Technologies TM, for their support in facilitating these outstanding opportunities for national networking and sharing evidence-based practices.
Photo caption:
At the 2024 CVAA Conference in Winnipeg, left to right: Caroline Marchionni, Emma Lockett, Marnie O'Brien, and Melissa Stark (CVAA Director)