Is it normal that my school doesn't teach us IVs?

[Annie_1101]

I just started nursing school and I've been told that we're not allowed to do IVs. Is this in all nursing schools or just mine? I'm worried that I won't be prepared when I get my first nursing job.

[alexis_brickcity, BSN, RN]

I'm in a BSN program and we weren't tauqht how to "start" an IV , like actually entering it into a vein. However , we were tauqht and validated on everything else(turning it into a saline lock, piggyback, changing tubing, D/C the IV, etc). Supposedly, when you qet a job and they don't have their own IV team, they train you. However, most of the seniors and juniors usually learn how to start one from one of our professors.

[purplegal]

Both schools that I graduated from were the same way--no starting IVs or inserting foley catheters. With my associate's degree, they did teach us how to insert a Foley and we tested out on that. For IVs, all we got was a brief demonstration in fourth semester and one attempt to try on a dummy. You are not alone.

[alexis_brickcity, BSN, RN]

However, we are tauqht and validated on Foley catheters

[Allgood2016, LPN, LVN]

WOW...After reading some of the comments I feel very old school. (Graduated in 1975.)

Foley insertion is one of the first things we were taught.

IV insertion was not taught. I learned in a class that I paid for myself. Everyone wanted to practice on me; as I have good viens. The night we practiced on each other I went home with bandaid front both antecubitals down to my wrists.

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

My school spent a lot of time on IV's and it shows. Of 11 RN's in my clinic, only 4 of us do iv insertion. The others are not at all comfortable doing them. Very sad really

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

My prn position hired a new grad BSN She oriented with me one shift. Had never seen an insulin pen, never done a neb treatment and said she had never started an iv.

I think it's normal for BSN programs.... not that I necessarily agree with it. But I find their emphasis to be on soft skills, such as QI project or research review.... kind of ridiculous since most nurses will be working the floor before they participate in any projects like that. But I digress.. 2010 was the last class at my university to practice the skill on each other.

[georgia619]

This should have been a reply to another post. Can't figure out where delete is. Sorry.

We had to do foley first semester...

[esrun77]

It has been eye-opening to read this post and these comments. I'm shocked! I am in a BSN program, it's going to be our third semester, and some of us have already started IVs on real patients. I'm downright stunned. How can employers distinguish between a nurse that had these skills and a nurse that does not?? If an employer hires you and assumes you know these things but you don't, aren't you putting patients' safety at risk???

[vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN]

In my LVN/PN program, we were shown how IV pumps work, though we did not manage them in Clinicals. Many of us chose to obtain IV certification as an extra class immediately after graduation.

In RN school, we were expected to manage the IV pumps our pts were on. We also were able to start IVs.

In fact, passing an IV therapy test was part of our final semester requirements. We were required to start one on a dummy arm and pass an exam.

My my school partnered with a local university to offer IV certification. In order to obtain the cert, we had to be checked off on 10 successful IV starts. I think I did at least 20.

This is certification allowed new hires to be exempt from a portion of the new hire competencies at the hospital I was hired at.

I learned and and started urinary caths in LVN/PN school.

In RN school Clinicals, I started several foleys.

[NursesRmofun, ASN, RN]

I answered the poll thinking of "teaching IV's" as the actual starting of IV's. We did get IV teaching as far as equipment and theory. We did not do IV starts in a medical setting/real life during my LPN clinicals or RN clinicals.

[NursesRmofun, ASN, RN]

I suppose the monkey is a tad bit sharper than me because I still struggle to start IV lines, draw blood and perform cannulation, even after a decade of being a nurse. I am simply not a hands-on person...

No, no.....IV starts can be very difficult and sometimes "the best of the best" have to be called to get access...and, at other times, they need a central line because they are that hard to get. I don't agree at all with it being a monkey skill.

[barcode120x, RN, NP]

It's NOT normal for a NP to not teach/practice IV, but I believe it IS normal if a NP does very little emphasis on the skill. We learned about it in a few quick slides. We did 2-3 practice session in 2-man groups on a dummy arm. Did a check off in front of the instructor and that's it. You could take the time outside of class to practice on the dummies, but dummies are nowhere near the same. We were to get checked off in clinical to get an IV, but that was only during the OR rotation. Aside from that, you had to go hunting for IV's, it wasn't the NP's responsibility to continue to help you practice. I had a few extra shots at it during my last semester, but total, I probably did less than 10 IV's my entire nursing clinical. I honestly don't think it's a big deal. As long as you are exposed to the basics such as "landing the plane," you will eventually learn it at work. I learned the skill at work and I'd say I'm good at it.