I cant start IV's!

Practice, practice, practice!
I have gotta pretty good at starting IVs now but am working on the not making a bloody mess. chucks underneath is a must!

Your own thought of trailing the IV team is an excellent idea. A lot of hospitals no longer have IV teams, so try to take advantage of the opportunity.
I agree with numerous others that state most ICU nurses deal with central lines, so don't necessarily have peripheral IV skills. In our hospital, it's the ED nurses who get called for in-house pts needing a new line.
I'd also think if you're starting a new position, you'll have an orientation, and hopefully, an opportunity to develop some skill before you're in a crisis situation.
Good luck!

Maybe if the floors (ICU excluded) were not so pushy and demanding about the patient having an IV before coming to the floor then they would get more practice. We don't have an IV team, but if did, then we would be the IV team. I've been an ED nurse for 3 years and probably placed about 5000 IV lines.

I was an ICU nurse for a long time and lost all IV skills while I was there, my wife, who is also a CRNA , would be on call in the hospital and I would page her to come start my IVs when I could not.

" Honey, if you loved me you would come start this IV for me" .

IV skills are a matter of practice, practice, practice and more practice.. and nothing more.

practice , practice and more practice ...

a lot of good advice has been given ... release tourniquets sooner rather than later , shallow approach etc ...

but nothing beats practice - I don't claim to be able to get a line in any one but i'll at least have a look and if someone is really bad to get access on they may end up with a line in an unconventional place ... i've ended up on the ulnar aspect of arms and on bicpes in people who have become human pin cushions pin cushions through repeated attempts of having to have lotsorf peripheral lines due to prolonged IV therapy anda reluctance to get them a central line /PICC

Yeah, nothing beats practice. And sometime, you're just simply in IV hell.

If I can feel but not see the vein, I mark it above & below with my pen so I have a target in the middle. I'm a big fan of the cephalic, try to save the AC if possible.

Do you occlude the vein just above the end of the catheter after removing the sharp and/or blood draw attachment thingy (nice medical term, huh?)? I use my ring finger and that pretty much prevents the blood from pouring out & making a mess.

I discovered when I was first learning to start IVs that if I reviewed mentally the whole procedure, step by step before I went to the patient's room, I was usually successful. If I hurried, I missed more often than not.

Our hospital frequently sends people to our ER when they want practice starting IV's. They just wander around and when we have a patient that needs an IV we let them try to start it. Don't worry someone told me that until you've started at least 100 IV's you don't really feel comfortable doing them, and even after 100 you're no where near an expert, so don't feel bad about not being able to start them. I feel pretty comfortable now and I've only been doing them for about 3 months now. Just remember to use a shallow angle, I blew a few IV's before I figured that out Just practice! You'll get it soon.

Actually EMT's do start IV's. They are known as EMT-"I" (intermediate) They and paramedics can start IV's

I too am an ICU nurse and I understand how you feel that you may need a line NOW!!! I truly, truly believe that the gbiggest obstacle to overcome is your confidence. YOU CAN Start IV"s! If you miss it, you miss it.......it happens to everyone. Can you get a hold of a practice arm? Perhaps the EMS department...........paramedics use the arms alot. Or a phlebotomy school. Find some medium to practice at home. Break it down into steps. Gather all your equipment, set yourself up, andthen do the same thing over and over again, until you are relaxed and comfortable with the steps you are using. Then be positive when you make the attempt to cannulate. Know that you will get it. See that needle going into the vein just where you want it. And keep on practicing. Ask everyone to let you start their lines. ICU nurses are usually very accommodating to helping a compadre!!! Keep on doing it...........YOU CAN doit!!!!!!!!