IV starts

Nursing Students General Students

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Hi everyone. I am in the middle of my 3rd semester...have one more left, and I have only had the opportunity to start one IV. We are now in our OB/GYN clinicals and were promised we would have plenty of opportunity..but still have not. I am a little nervous that I am going to graduate without ever having started another IV. Has anyone else had this problem?

Specializes in Neuro, Critical Care.

We haven't learned to start IV's yet either, we are in the middle of our 2nd semester..the instuctors keep saying they want to teach us that as our last skill...hopefully i get time to practice~

Specializes in Ortho/Neuro.

I also have only one semester left. I have not started an IV yet. I was just so excited that I got to straight cath someone. At least I got to do that before I graduate. I am hoping next semester I will be able to start one, but I am not holding my breath or anything.

Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

I've started two IVs this semester, so that's exciting. The only thing I would suggest is telling all the nurses on your floor during clinical that if they have an IV that needs to be started, you would be happy to do it for them. Put yourself out there and let people know you're willing and able.

Will you be able to do any rotations through other areas? The CP Lab, ED and OR are all places where you should get plenty of opportunities.

ask if you can get a day in same day surgery. tons of opportunity there. tons....

Specializes in OB, lactation.

Same deal here, I'll graduate in April and haven't done a one.

As a matter of fact, the hosptial I'm currently doing clinicals in won't LET us do any venipuncture, so no IV insertion & no blood draws. I'm sure they'll be the same ones to be annoyed when we get hired as grads & don't know how to do it.

Good to see I am not alone...we get the opportunity each semester to have one clinical day in a specialty, such as ER, OR, CVRU...but unfortunately we are only there to observe, so we cannot touch the patients...therefore not allowed to start IV's on them, because the school policy is that the instructor must be there. So, we just have to hope we get some IV's that need to be changed on the MedSurg floor. I have gotten to do 4 Foleys, and most other students in my class have not...so I guess I am fortunate to get some experience with that.

Very few people in my class got the chance to start an IV. Don't worry, its a skill you'll be taught PRN at your new job.

Specializes in ER.

If you have a senior preceptorship, you may get the opportunity then. My preceptor arranged for me to spend a day with the IV therapy nurse and I got to do seven....whoohoo:p

Best thing to do, though, is to just make it known that you want to practice this skill. As someone else said, tell everyone! And if you do a preceptorship, ask if you can spend some time with an IV team member if the hospital has them.

Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.

This is one of the issues that arise when students have clinicals at facilities that are not "owned or operated" by their college or university, and seems to happen most often with ADN and BSN students, as diploma programs usually place their students within their own facilities for most of their clinical time.

There is the fear that if a student (whose skills are largely unknown to the hospital staff) accidentally harms a patient while performing an advanced clinical skill, the hospital may be held liable and future students may not be welcome in that facility. So, to avoid liability issues, the school and facility limit the skills the students can perform.

Students graduate without skills that were once considered basic, and the responsibility falls on the employer to teach these skills to new grads. (Don't worry, your future employers know this!)

I used to precept senior students in the NICU (one at a time, thank Goodness!). They had the opportunity to perform a number of skills that their peers on general floors probably did not. I found it shameful that a number of seniors each year would graduate without ever having the opportunity to start an IV, so I offered up my arms each spring. I think it gave these grads a boost in their confidence to approach their first jobs with that "milestone" out of the way!

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