Challenge at pedi floor

[kkim119]

Hi, everyone. Im an new grad nurse and have been worked in the pedi floor for 2 months. i love my job but the only problem that I have is I cant start an IV on kids. My coworkers let me try everytime when we have a chance but I never get it. I know that it is very importance to know how to start IV . I had started an IV on adult and successful with it but not on children. Everytime when I start, they cry, and of course the parents are looking at me so i become nervous, then every thing starts going wrong, I cant see or feel the vein anymore. My manager keeps asking about my IV skill because I am done with my orientation. I feel very stressed now , i dont know what to do. I want to work with children but cant start an IV on them. Please help me!!!

[poppycat, ADN, BSN]

It takes a lot of practice to become good with placing IV's in kids. It took me over 6 months before I even felt halfway proficient. Keep trying every chance you get. If having the parents watch makes you uncomfortable, I would ask about taking the child into a treatment room to start the IV.

[kkim119]

Thank you for your reply poppycat! I know that it has to take time for the IV practice, but my boss she is checking on my skill everytime she saw me, that put me in a lot of pressure. I feel very doubt about my ability. Do you have any technique to share? P/s: in my workplace, we take kids go to the treatment room for procedure and parents allow to go in too!!

[anon456, BSN, RN]

Ask if you can do a few shifts in the ED to have more opportunities.

Ask of you can follow the IV nurse around for a shift, if your hospital has one.

[morningland]

We have a treatment room we take the kids into. I never let the parents come unless they insist. They way I see it, it is hard enough to start an IV on a kid, I need to be able to focus and get the job done. That becomes harder when the parents stress out. Plus I think it's better for the kid to be brought back to their parents, who can then comfort and console them

[LoveMyBugs, BSN, CNA, RN]

Do you have an IV team that you could follow for a day?

Or the suggestion of going to the ED, or even the NICU to learn.

I followed a 35 yr NICU veteran who now works in my ED for a couple of shifts to learn IV starts on the infants.

It is a skill that develops over time.

What can make a great IV start on kids is the people helping. Do you have good holders? What about child life to distract the child and possibly the parents? Do you use j-tip or Lidocaine cream?

Watch as many sticks as you can keep practicing

I recently had a run where I could get IVs on screaming crying little kids and infants no problem but give me calm cooperative teenagers I kept missing.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

Young children will cry every time, whether or not you get it in. You have to be able to zone that out, which will come with time. Do you not have an IV team at your hospital? I definitely worked with many floor nurses who never started IVs on children when I worked in the hospital. In my current job, all the kids I take care of who need anything IV have CVLs, PICCs or Ports.