Are you forced to practice IV's and injections on each other in nursing school?

[kroegerk]

Hello! I am currently taking my pre-reqs at Scottsdale Community College before the nursing program and have a few questions about the program. Im sure ALL schools are completely different, but I was curious to know when the time comes to practice inserting IV's and injections were the students forced to practice on each other? Or is it optional? I obviously dont mind administrating the IV or injection, I just have a fear of someone practicing on me. I know sounds silly!! How do they do these procedures at your schools? Better yet, if you are a student at Scottsdale Community College I'd really like to find out what to expect in the future of the program. Thanks!!

[time4meRN]

i don't think your silly at all. this has been an issue with me since my friend went to ma school. :angryfire injecting and drawing blood on each other wasn't mandatory, but, it they dindn't participate their life could be miserable. this is my take on it. these procedures are considered invasive. there are risks. we can not force our pt's to undergo these procedures. therefore schools can not force students to accept these procedures. there is risk for infection also, it uses veins that may be quick access. say heaven forbid you were in an accident on the way home for school. it may make iv access more difficult for medics to obtain. i have run into this several times in the er. an ma student comes in with flue symtoms. we just want to give a iv bolus of fluids and some zofran. it looks like they are iv drug users or something. it makes simple iv stick difficult. puts the pt through more discomfort and produces a delay in treatment. it really angers me. my freind that is an ma said the school told them, " they want them to know how the pt. feels". well, i've done critical care for 30 years. i can feel empathy for the pt without having the need to be intubated, so i know how the pt feels. when i was in nursing school in th late 70's, we did all kinds of procedures oneach other. ng inserstion, complete bed baths, iv, etc. i was never afraid of the procedures but i did feel bad for those that were. i was under the impression that things had changed with the use of manakins etc. well, good luck, but don't feel silly. when it comes to invasive procedures, you are a pt if they are being preformed on you. just like when we do procedures to pt's and they are fearful, we don't think they are silly. :heartbeat

[Blove86]

We are not allowed to give injections on each other, in fact we probably wont start IV's until after we begin to practice. We did each get to do a SQ and IM on our instructor, but before that we practice on oranges and hot dogs. For IV's we used a fake arm

[Knok_Turn_Al]

In first semester we practiced fingerstick and wheals on each other....the wheals were voluntary. In 3rd semester when we went over IVs, the first day we practiced on plastic arms but the second day we had to do it on each other or we didn't go to clinical. Our teacher said the fear and anxiety we were experiencing was how the patient felt before a procedure and he wanted us to know how that felt and how the anxiety increased waiting for your turn.

[kakamegamama]

Your school should not be able to force you to do anything. Just as a patient has rights, so do students (I know you may not feel that way sometimes, but you do, really!). So, if you are told you have to, there should be a hold harmless agreement, which means the school is held harmless if you are injured or you injure another student, a permission form giving permission to another student to stick you. And, last but by all means not least--you should be able to sign a form of refusal. If you get hassled by faculty, they are in the wrong IMO. When I was faculty, we were not allowed to make a student stick another. They had to grant permission in writing & if they refused, they refused--no biggie. Hope this helps & best of luck!

[SaraO'Hara]

We practised wheals, SQ, IM on each other in school (after passing on a dummy), and did fake arms and then live sticks in IV certification class - we had to have 3 successful life IVs and lab draws to qualify.

[cherrybreeze, ADN, RN]

We didn't do any sticks on each other, but we were allowed to start IV's on patients in clinical (same day surgical centers and holding room is GREAT practice, lots of starts to do!).

We did IV's on fake arms, IM and SQ on special pads, and ID's (wheals) on hot dogs...works great, you can actually get one under the skin!

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

Feeling stupid here, but what on earth is a "wheal?"

We weren't allowed to practice anything needlestick wise on each other. When I started working though, practicing fingersticks on each other was part of orientation. I think if someone didn't want to, they wouldn't have had to, but that's a pretty minor thing to ask someone to do. I was later talking to a coworker who was like, "I never learned how to use the glucometer. I was too nervous waiting for my turn to be stuck!"

I had one lab where our instructor let us draw blood on each other despite the school-rule banning it. We were all literally begging her to let us try.

[MB37]

I wish I would have had the chance to practice on my classmates, but we were not allowed to on penalty of expulsion. Same threat if we got caught smuggling supplies out of the lab to practice at home. We were taught on fake arms and injection pads, and we could do them on patients during clinical.

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

Oh wait, but wheal do you mean like intradermal injections?

[big-chicken]

When you do your' first stick on a patient, do you inform the patient that this is your' first time? Is the patient given the option to have an experienced person care for them?

Just curious. I recently had a glucous tolerance test and I swear I must have been the Ginny pig that day.

big-chicken

[kohana]

Injections ... we learned by reading and then injecting into oranges. IV insertion and taking blood samples ... I had to take a mandatory class, offered by the hospital I was hired at. We practiced on a model and then had to perform 3 successful attempts on patients before we were certified. Thank God we didn't practice on each other, that sounds frightening!

I've noticed that patients do one of two things when you tell them its your first time doing a procedure etc. One they are hesitant and they might ask for someone else, or they might be very supportive and willing to be your "guinea pig". I have told patients before and sometimes after ...

[DoeRN]

No we did not practice on each other. We had fake arms to practice IV's. We were not taught blood drawing. If we had the chance in clinicals to draw blood our instructors taught us. Thank goodness I was a student tech before because I never had the chance to draw blood until my capstone with my precptor and I knew what to do and I was able to start a couple of IV's then too. Some of my classmates have never drawn blood or started an IV.