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Skill Checklists for Taylor's Clinical Nursing Skills:
A Nursing Process Approach, 3rd edition
Name Date
Unit Position
Instructor/Evaluator: Position
SKILL 16-3Obtaining an Arterial Blood Sample From an
Arterial Line–Stopcock SystemGoal:A specimen is obtained without compromise to the
patency of the arterial line. Comments- Verify the order for laboratory testing on the patient’s
medical record. - Gather all equipment and bring to bedside.
- Perform hand hygiene and put on PPE, if indicated.
- Identify the patient.
- Close curtains around bed and close the door to the room,
if possible. Explain the procedure to the patient. - Compare specimen label with patient identification
bracelet. Label should include patient’s name and identifi-
cation number, time specimen was collected, route of col-
lection, identification of the person obtaining sample, and
any other information required by agency policy. - Put on gloves and goggles or face shield.
- Turn off or temporarily silence the arterial pressure alarms,
depending on facility policy. - Locate the stopcock nearest the arterial line insertion site.
Use the alcohol swab or chlorhexidine to scrub the
sampling port on the stopcock. Allow to air dry. - Attach a 5-mL syringe into the sampling port on the stop-
cock to obtain the discard volume. Turn off the stopcock
to the flush solution. Aspirate slowly until blood enters the
syringe. Stop aspirating. Note the volume in the syringe,
which is the dead-space volume. Continue to aspirate until
the dead-space volume has been withdrawn a total of three
times. For example, if the dead-space volume is 0.8 mL,
aspirate 2.4 mL of blood. - Turn the stopcock to the halfway position between the
flush solution and the sampling port to close the system in
all directions. - Remove the discard syringe and dispose of appropriately.
Copyright © 2011 by Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Skill Checklists for Taylor's Clinical Nursing Skills:ExcellentSatisfactoryNeeds Practice