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Bedside procedures

How to change a central line dressing

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

Nursing (NCLEX)
Practice it in VR with Blocky

Central line infections are serious and mostly preventable. Sterile dressing changes are part of the prevention bundle.

Step by step

  1. When

    Transparent dressings every 7 days, gauze every 2 days, or sooner if damp, loose or soiled. [1]

  2. Prepare

    Hand hygiene, mask for you and the patient (or turn the head away), kit ready. [2]

  3. Remove

    Clean gloves; peel toward the insertion site so the line does not move; inspect the site. [2]

  4. Clean

    Sterile gloves; chlorhexidine-alcohol back-and-forth scrub for 30 seconds; let dry. [2]

  5. Apply

    Chlorhexidine sponge or dressing if used, transparent dressing, secure the line. [2]

  6. Label and record

    Date, time, initials; site appearance; external catheter length. [2]

Common errors

Practice it in Making Synapses

In Making Synapses 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.

Making Synapses cases that train this skill

Sources

  1. CDC, Guideline for Isolation Precautions (2007) and PPE sequence
  2. Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) (CC BY 4.0)
  3. OpenStax, Clinical Nursing Skills (reference)

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