IV Therapy Help

[Munchkinerin]

Hey guys! So I am in RN school now. I am an LPN bridge student. I took an IV course right after I graduated from my LPN program in 2014. So I have no experience with IV's besides a 20 hour course that I literally remember nothing about. Being a bridge student, I wasn't able to learn IV's with the general RN students in my program now. We are now well into Med Surg 2 and I am still lost on IV's because I haven't had anyone explain them to me. My clinical instructor doesn't have time. So I am going to go to open lab to work on it this afternoon and tomorrow however the instructors in open lab really don't have the time to work with me like I need. I was wondering if there's any good websites or videos you know of to help me so that I can get a pretty good idea prior to going into lab and I can just ask for help in specific areas that I need.

I have seen the mosby nursing videos but they really arent that helpful. It's not the starting an IV that I am worried about (I have done plenty of blood draws as an LPN), its EVERYTHING else. Like hanging a new bag, secondary, piggyback, push, bolus, central line care, priming tubing, retrograde priming... you know the stuff you do on EVERY patient. Any help before going to lab would be SO appreciated!!

[BeckyESRN]

Maybe you could shadow a nurse at an outpatient infusion clinic? That's where I learned about IVs, ports, sterile fields, drawing up meds, iv administration; it was easily the most helpful experience in nursing school. I had mentioned to my instructor that I didn't get much experience with these things during my regular clinical day, so she contacted the hospital and set up a date for me. Ask your clinical instructor if they know of anywhere that would let you shadow

[romantic]

Ask to shadow someone. It is the best and easy solution.

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

When you guys do clinicals is there anyway you can ask to do a day in pre-op, infusion clinic or ED?? You would get lots of IV experience in those and get to actually do the IV's and have nurses that do them all the time show you. It's so much different then doing them on fake arms in lab or watching videos. If you aren't allowed to do a day then I would see about shadowing as the next best thing because at least you're still visualizing it all and watching it be done. IV's are one of my favorite skills to do.