frustrated with myself & IV's

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Aug 19, 2006

I get a lot of these type of pts also in MICU. I have found that IV drug users can be easy starts if you just ask them what works for them. Sometimes they only have one good vein left.....the secret is to wheedle it out them.

Oh always, ALWAYS use your best resources!:wink2: :wink2: Patients know what works best for them nine times out of ten. And parents are the ultimate experts in their child, so I use them shamelessly. Makes life so much easier. :cool:

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Aug 20, 2006

read the many posts to this older thread which is getting quite lengthy. there are many good pointers on starting ivs there:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f18/iv-tips-tricks-3793.html - iv tips and tricks

i was an iv therapist for 6 years and held a national certification in iv therapy. it took me a long time to get there. when i first started as an rn, it took me a good 6 months before i began to get successful with starting ivs. yes, practice makes perfect. i started looking for any and every opportunity to start or re-start someone's iv. six months, as i said, before i started noticing any improvement in myself. i think the biggest thing i had to learn was to ditch that silly "insert the iv at a 45 degree angle" baloney and to remember that you are entering a tube with a pointed stick. i had to consciously remember to keep my iv cannula and it's stylus nearly parallel in the vein or i would "blow" an attempt time and time again. i also had to learn ways to put traction on the intended veins and stabilize them to receive their piercings.

CarVsTree · Sep 20, 2006

I get a lot of these type of pts also in MICU. I have found that IV drug users can be easy starts if you just ask them what works for them. Sometimes they only have one good vein left.....the secret is to wheedle it out them. Probably the most bizarre IV site I have ever used was in the shoulder - and we have to use 18 gauge IVs.

LOL! I have found the opposite. Whenever an IV drug user has told me what vein, it has NOT worked out. Just yesterday I had a pt. with heroin abuse hx, first tell me I would never get an IV in. Then he proceeded to attempt to tell me where to try. I jovially told him not to "backseat drive." I then went on to tell him what vein I chose and asked him to be very still. Bam! two seconds later, its in.

twinmommy+2, ADN, BSN, MSN · Sep 20, 2006

Can I call you next time I need an IV? I had surgery three weeks ago and the nurse put an 18 into the back of my hand. Do you think the thing would run? Even on a pump, every time I moved it obstructed. And I STILL have phlebitis in a feeder vein. :angryfire

I can't even imagine putting an 18 into a hand, not unless it was a big vein there. Generally I don't even start with the hand, I start looking above the wrist, work up to the AC, even look above the AC before routing around in the hands.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Sep 20, 2006

I wouldn't say the veins in my hands are huge, but they're straight and visible. I can still feel the faintest suggestion of the clot I had there, and my surgery was almost two months ago now. At least it doesn't hurt anymore. :mad:

DaretoDreamRN · Sep 20, 2006

I work in the ER as a new grad so it is really important to know how to draw blood from your patientsand start an IV. I would go home and get frustrated cos i would put the needle thru the vein or i would never even get to the vein. it was really hard but i kept on trying. ive been doing it for the past two months now cos the nurses call me to help them start a line and draw blood.... some days are good...some days are bad but i know i am getting better each day. i graduated in may 2006 and i never drew blood in school so it was very hard for me but i take it one day at a time,

traumahawk99 · Sep 21, 2006

just keep on pokin' :).

blaaveispiken · Sep 23, 2006

I was never too great with IVs in nursing school. Then, went through one orientation and did a few but wasn't great again...Then, moved to another state and hospital and am still uncomfortable. Tried 3 times on one person today and twice on another and was so humiliated cuz I had to ask the supervisor to start them. I know they say practice helps but I hate never getting them....

I know how you feel!!! I was so lucky though -- my final quarter in school I was placed in an outpatient oncology clinic for my preceptorship and I got to learn from the best of the best! Some of the nurses there used to be in IV therapy. They were AWESOME!!! Because it is an outpatient setting, IV starts are ongoing all the time -- every day. So what they did for me was amazing and I owe them -- big time! They first let me practice on them (I couldn't believe they let me do that!!!) and there were three of them that volunteered to be guinea pigs for me. They coached me until I got it and then I got to start IV's on patients (always asked their permission first since I was still a student). You know what happened because of that experience? I now love, love, love doing IV starts and I NEVER thought I would say that.

If I were you and if you can, I would track down the IV team and ask them for some tips. Or maybe you could follow them for a few hours if your manager will let you do that -- maybe come in on a day off even. You will never regret learning from the pros because hit and miss just doesn't cut it!!! And you feel like you know what when you don't get it!

During that quarter I also did a search online for some IV web sites. There are some good threads in this forum, but here's another one you might find helpful:

http://www.enw.org/IVStarts.htm

You will get it -- just don't give up! Seek out those nurses who really know what they are doing when it comes to IV starts!

Good luck to you!