Did you learn IV in NS?! - Page 3

We had to start 1 IV to pass med surge clinical. I have done 6, YAY! Our clinical told the nurses when we got there that morning to give us all IV's, and they always did!

oh, and we had to have an RN or our instructor there each time.

Wow, I had never heard of so many schools not allowing IV starts until now! My program had us first practice on dummy arms in lab (we weren't allowed to stick each other), and then any time we had an opportunity to start one in clinical, they let us! I guess I just assumed it was like that everywhere.

We start IV's in our school. We try to get as much experience as we can!

It's the same at our school--we don't start IVs. As others have said, this is because the hospital where we are doing clinicals has an IV team. So I suppose where you are doing clinicals has a lot to do with it. I'm actually really happy to be readying this! I had assumed that our school was short-changing us... :-/

Yes, we started tons of IV's while in nursing school. ADN. How else are you going to learn?! That plastic arm in lab is a great place to start, but you need real-life experience too! Part of the beauty of the ADN degree, IMO

So I start the ADN program in August and I am so beyond myself. I am so excited to start my journey!

*** Congrats! Nursing is a rewarding and challenging field.

I spoke to a co worker who is in the program that I will be in and was telling me ait about the program.
One thing kind of got my attention. He said we as students do not learn how to insert IVs. That is on job training. I always figured that's something every RN should know how to do, no?

*** Yes it is something every RN should know how to do as it is a very basic nursing task and was taught in nursing schools. Certainly in my school if a student didn't learn they didn't graduate.

He said that now there are IV teams in hospitals, so you don't need to know how to do it.

*** Some do, some don't. Either way the hospital must now train nurses to do basic nursing tasks. It's expensive and they resent it.

Just curious to know if our school is the only one who does this.

*** No it's not just your school. many nursing school are failing their students in a similar manner. Every new grad who is unable to find a job in a hospital should be complaining to their nursing school. Is it any wonder hospitals are so reluctant to hire new grads when the expence to train them keep going up as nursing schools fail?

We didn't learn them in my program, same issue I believe as dudette on a statewide level. I learned on the job and it was no big. IME, the skills I did have an opportunity to practice in clinical never came up enough to really be able to practice them well, anyway.

Something to consider- in areas where nursing students aren't allowed to start IVs, hospitals don't expect students to have that skill coming in. Schools are bound by state regulations as well as the limitations hospitals place upon their students (I had clinical at a peds hospital that did not allow nursing students to take rectal temperatures, among other things). During my job hunt not once were specific skills a discussion during interviews- they all seemed much more concerned with my work ethic, personality, and teach-ability.

I have a coworker with a master's degree, has worked bedside for almost 20 years, has NEVER started an IV. Always worked somewhere with an IV team, has no interest in learning.