Can you be Travel RN if you need help starting IVs?

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Hi everyone, I will be finishing my 2nd year in Nursing on Med/Surg unit and have Tele experience as part time as well. I am however, NOT at all good with IVs, I mean blood work I can manage but patent IVs? I just cant. I have tried, though and just cant get "it" :(

Will this hinder my chances at travel nursing? I mean if I go to a stranger unit will the staff RNs help me if I try 2x and am unsucessful with IVs on a patient? I feel like this is the only thing keeping me from applying to travel positions :( - my fear of not being able to do IVs and nobody to help! Lol

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Specializes in PICU, Sedation/Radiology, PACU.

Nobody is perfect at every nursing skill. Not being great at starting IV's doesn't make you a bad nurse (although I would suggest trying to find a class or working with a more experienced nurse in order to gain more skill).

I can't speak for every unit, but no one on my unit would ever refuse to help another nurse with an IV start just because she was a traveler.

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Ask to float to preop for some extra training. There are plenty of opportunity to practice there.

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I am not great at IVs and require help. I have traveled and find that people will help me. Not everyone is a great stick, just give it a try and if you're not successful or don't see any veins - find out who the great stick is!

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Working as the I.V. Nurse in Pre-op or on the floor is an excellent suggestion. I was like you many years ago. After working Pre-op as the I.V. Nurse for the day and putting in 25 to 30 I.V.'s daily, I got good at it really fast. Practice does make prefect in this case. Good luck!

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Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

Never fear asking for help. No one is perfect in anything. It took me a good 2 years to be a good sticker-an LPN taught me. LPN's are great BTW. Anyway what I WAS good at was foley insertion. I'd get called to other floors to help. Good luck!!!

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Specializes in Pediatric Primary Care.

I worked for almost 2 years in my first job out of college, and we had an IV team do ALL our IVs; we were actually discouraged from trying ourselves. So, when I took my first travel assignment, I had NO experience! I asked my manager to help me out, and she sent me to pre-op where I got a few started. Since then, I'm not the best, but I just try what I can..limit myself to 2 sticks, then get help! In my experience, there is always someone willing to help.

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