Bedside procedures

How to set up an IV pump

Other platforms explain it with text and video. In VMS you practice it on the patient.

Nursing (NCLEX)
Practice it in VR with Blocky

Smart pumps prevent errors only when the drug library is used and the line is traced.

Step by step

  1. Check the order

    Drug, concentration, rate, patient. [1]

  2. Prime

    Spike the bag, fill the drip chamber halfway, prime the tubing with no air. [1]

  3. Load and program

    Use the drug library; enter rate and volume to be infused. [1]

  4. Trace the line

    From bag to pump to patient, especially with several infusions. [2]

  5. Double-check

    Independent second check for high-alert drugs (insulin, heparin, opioids). [2]

  6. Start and check

    Unclamp, check the IV site, label the tubing. [1]

Common errors

Practice it in VMS

In VMS you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.

Sources

  1. Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) (CC BY 4.0)
  2. The Joint Commission, National Patient Safety Goals
  3. OpenStax, Clinical Nursing Skills (CC BY 4.0)

Steps adapted from Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) and OpenStax, Clinical Nursing Skills, licensed under CC BY 4.0. VMS is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.