So I start the ADN program in August and I am so beyond myself. I am so excited to start my journey!
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?
He said that now there are IV teams in hospitals, so you don't need to know how to do it.
Just curious to know if our school is the only one who does this..
I had no idea that so many RN schools do not allow students to start IVs. In my ADN program we first practiced IV starts on dummy arms in the skills lab. We wanted to start them on each other but we were not allowed, even if we signed waivers. We had to do proper return demonstrations on IV starts to pass that particular quarter. Once you passed that skill you were able to start IVs in any clinical except at the Childrens Hospital. Though I will say the opportunities for actually starting an IV were limited and I only ended up getting to do 2 of them. What other skills are people learning in RN programs? Are you inserting catheters, doing trach care, inserting NG tubes? These were some of the other skills we had to do in the skills lab to pass. Though these opportunities in clinical were rare too. I inserted only 1 cath and never did trach care or inserted an NG tube. The NG tube insertion scares me the most so I didn't mind not doing that one on a live person.
What other skills are people learning in RN programs? Are you inserting catheters, doing trach care, inserting NG tubes? .
no IV training for us but we did do catheters and trach care. One of my clinicals was 6 weeks in a VA hospital where 80% of what we did daily was trach care. Next clinical on a med-surg floor in a different hospital a trach patient was admitted and the nurse assigned to that patient always wanted me as her student. She said I had more trach care experience than she did after 10 years.
I never inserted an NG tube in school but I'm not sure if we weren't allowed or the opportunity just never presented itself.
So I start the ADN program in August and I am so beyond myself. I am so excited to start my journey!
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?
He said that now there are IV teams in hospitals, so you don't need to know how to do it.
Just curious to know if our school is the only one who does this..
I haven't started yet, but I did check the Nursing Student Handbook, which my school has generously posted online. It states that in my 2nd semester I will learn Venipuncture, IV therapy etc, so I would presume that means I get to start IV's at some point in my future. I have to admit, the idea thrills me and terrifies me!
I haven't started yet, but I did check the Nursing Student Handbook, which my school has generously posted online. It states that in my 2nd semester I will learn Venipuncture, IV therapy etc, so I would presume that means I get to start IV's at some point in my future. I have to admit, the idea thrills me and terrifies me!
You'll have to find out because for us second semester we did IV therapy (hanging piggybacks, changing tubing, IV push, and hanging primaries) but the 3rd semester we actually did peripheral IV insertion
We were taught the skill, but a lot of us haven't had an opportunity to do them in clinicals yet. I was a Paramedic many years ago, and am hoping that it's like riding a bike. But I do remember that it's just a skill like any other, so don't stress. Whenever you get to it, you'll do fine with a bit of coaching and practice. And remember, even the most experienced nurse misses or blows an IV from time to time, so don't stress if you don't make it the first time.
Our program doesn't teach it except as an "optional" lab practicum in Fundamentals 2. We are told pretty much the same thing, that IV teams do IV starts, although none of my clinical sites had IV teams. One site has an IV nurse but she is only called when the floor nurses can't make the stick, so yeah... I call b.s. on that one!
That said, I was able to do an IV stick on another nurse. The site I was at was a teaching hospital, and on a low census day on the peds floor I got to work a shift in the ER and the ER nurses LOOOOVE to teach students! LOL I was lucky though. And I got it on my first try (but the nurse had some great pipes, so that helped a lot! )
I'm told by students in the cohort above me and in cohorts past that have graduated now, that they got to do IV sticks when they precepted, so I am looking forward to that, next semester!
It's a clinical requirement at my school, as well. By the time we graduate, most of us have done enough IV starts to be fairly competent at it. I'm shocked to hear so many new grad nurses haven't had any exposure to this skill!
At my school, we learned in lab on the fake arm, which is just like a real one (yes, that's sarcasm). We were told we'd get to do them in clinicals. I only got to try two of them. Now I'm working in a SNF/LTC and we don't do IVs there, so I've never had a chance to learn. I would be happy to take a class at my own expense to be able to learn, but the only ones I've found are the full IV certification classes for LPNs, which are 10 weeks of classroom stuff which I learned in school. I just need to be able to practice doing the sticks.
I agree with previous comments that it's a huge issue with nursing education that we don't learn the skills in school. That's a big part of why the hospitals hire so few new grads.
We learned IV starts third semester in our ADN program and were able to practice on eachother as well as on some of the nurses at clinical. I am in the middle of third semester and have only started two on patients, but I am sure we will have more opportunities.
We learn IV's also in my ADN program. We have to pass it as a skill to pass the second semester, and then after that we get to do it in clinical when the opportunity arises. I am in the third now and have never had the opportunity, but over 90% of my class has so I am sure that I will get a chance soon.
SoundRN7
291 Posts
I had no idea that so many RN schools do not allow students to start IVs. In my ADN program we first practiced IV starts on dummy arms in the skills lab. We wanted to start them on each other but we were not allowed, even if we signed waivers. We had to do proper return demonstrations on IV starts to pass that particular quarter. Once you passed that skill you were able to start IVs in any clinical except at the Childrens Hospital. Though I will say the opportunities for actually starting an IV were limited and I only ended up getting to do 2 of them. What other skills are people learning in RN programs? Are you inserting catheters, doing trach care, inserting NG tubes? These were some of the other skills we had to do in the skills lab to pass. Though these opportunities in clinical were rare too. I inserted only 1 cath and never did trach care or inserted an NG tube. The NG tube insertion scares me the most so I didn't mind not doing that one on a live person.