Calculating a gravity infusion under an outreach order
RN OSCE practice station

The task

Paul Evans is in a staffed community outreach clinic. A signed fluid order specifies gravity delivery with a labelled giving set; no pump is required under this service plan. Calculate the drop rate, check the setup with the second RN and demonstrate monitoring. Complete the fluid record. The patient answers personal questions; the examiner supplies requested examination findings. Dr Taylor Singh is reachable by phone. RN Alex Morgan is available.

What this station tests

• Use the drop factor printed on the actual set, not a remembered default.
• A prescribed partial bag needs a monitored volume endpoint.
• Gravity flow can change after movement; recount and compare actual volume with time.

Sources for the clinical content

• ACSQHC: Management of Peripheral Intravenous Catheters Clinical Care Standard
• ACSQHC: Medication Safety Standard
• NHMRC: Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare

An original practice scenario with invented patients. Not an exam question.

Practise next

• Checking a maintenance fluid prescription
• Pain and swelling at an infusion site
• New breathlessness during residential IV therapy
• A pump setting that differs from the home order
• A short prescribed infusion in a GP clinic