Ok, I get that sometimes a patient just needs a different set of eyes. I sometimes ask a coworker for an IV start. Especially if I haven't eaten in 8 hours. However, this group wanted to get a freaking ultrasound for a patient's IV. She had great veins...
Granted, yesterday it took two attempts because one was a resident who wanted to try IVs but I got her 18 on the first try. She just needed a 20 and she had a great one in the AC you just had to feel.
I was slightly annoyed and I felt like they didn't bother looking writing the patient off as a drug user (which she is but that's beside the point). She also had 2 good ones that ran parallel to where I had the IV yesterday too. I had the IV yesterday on a lower end of where it could go for contrast.
I saw maybe one or two additional pokes on that arm and one or two could be explained due to lab drawing blood since she had to have blood cultures yesterday, other blood work, and she needed blood work today. (Patient refused to have other arm utilized)
Resident was like "maybe they didn't have your eyes or expertise." Thanks, but she had great veins.
Well, our facility is also kind of weird. They have strict rules about where IVs can be placed if the patient is going to be receiving contrast. It has to be above the halfway imaginary line on a person's forearm but it can't be in the shoulder area.
Then the other facility is having a weirdness about IV starts. They haven't released the new rules but now it can't be in the AC because admitted patients bend their arms too much and it cannot be in the wrist area because people bend those too much. Oh, and nothing in the upper arm either.
I love when the PACU RN is like "we can get 14s and 16s in the forearm all the time." My response was, "yeah, your people are healthy and choosing to get surgery done. Our sick people that we're struggling to get IVs in and we have to put that 22 in the upper arm or hand is because they ain't have **** for anything else."
The day before I placed a 22 in the upper arm and physician used ultrasound to get a 22 in her hand. We didn't get blood from either one but we managed to get blood from a small vein on her back. It took like six pokes to get blood.
I want to get better at IV starts. I really do. But sometimes I'm afraid to try because I might blow the only good vein there is.
plus, lately, I've had so many fails that my self-confidence is gone. I psych myself out before I even try.
Additionally, I am finding that now I have moved to bi- focal a, my perception is off and that effects my success rate
i had trouble with bifocals when I first got them. I find reading glasses are very helpful. It gives you a much larger area to look through. You might try them and see if they work for you
If it's happening all the time maybe you should say something to your boss to see if a message can be sent out reminding nurses that they really do need to try their own IV. It was a problem at one time on my floor with some of the new grads and that's what they were told. Once in a while if I'm totally swamped I'll ask if the charge or resource has time to do an IV just to help out. But I normally always try first at least twice never more than three times.
Think hard about whether this is really something worth complaining about. Try giving your co workers the benefit of the doubt and be happy that you have the skills to help.
applesxoranges, BSN, RN
2,242 Posts
Well, our facility is also kind of weird. They have strict rules about where IVs can be placed if the patient is going to be receiving contrast. It has to be above the halfway imaginary line on a person's forearm but it can't be in the shoulder area.
Then the other facility is having a weirdness about IV starts. They haven't released the new rules but now it can't be in the AC because admitted patients bend their arms too much and it cannot be in the wrist area because people bend those too much. Oh, and nothing in the upper arm either.
I love when the PACU RN is like "we can get 14s and 16s in the forearm all the time." My response was, "yeah, your people are healthy and choosing to get surgery done. Our sick people that we're struggling to get IVs in and we have to put that 22 in the upper arm or hand is because they ain't have **** for anything else."
The day before I placed a 22 in the upper arm and physician used ultrasound to get a 22 in her hand. We didn't get blood from either one but we managed to get blood from a small vein on her back. It took like six pokes to get blood.