Is this normal

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Our school said that we will not learn how to start IVs. I thought all schools taught this. Instead we are just learning to see if the site is normal and how to change IV bags. They explained that they did not want to use a mechanical arm or fellow students.

Are there other schools like this?

Specializes in Critical Care, Pediatrics, Geriatrics.

When I went to Medical Assisting school we learned blood draw and injections so the RN at my clinical site taught me start the IVs for the cancer pt's...It was excellent and I can't imagine learning on a dummy arm like my nursing classmates. They were soooo nervous about it where I was calm as a cucumber. Seek out pt's to do it on in the hospital. It comes in handy to know how to do your own IVs even with a facility that may have an IV team.

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Specializes in ER, NICU.

We learned on "dummy" arms.

Don't worry. You don't really "learn" starting IVs.

It is like kissing and making love.

You can't really KNOW what it is like and HOW to do it until you ACTUALLY DO it.:p

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Specializes in start in NICU 7/14/08.

I am also a NJ student...no IV starting. We can do heel sticks and blood draw from a butterfly, but if it's an IV it has to be done by an RN.

The graduate nurse that was hired earlier this year was not allowed to start IVs until she passed the NCLEX (this is hospital wide) and had her license information on file (basically until she was functioning as an RN with her preceptor). I agree with the previous NJ poster...I think this is a state thing.

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Specializes in Surgical Intensive Care.

We practiced on rubber arms and then went into the community and "practiced" on real people. I spent a day in the DSU starting IVs with one of the nurses. It was a great experience. Don't worry too much about it- they say that you don't really "learn" anything until after you graduate and go to work anyhow. It will come...

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

Dear Students. . .you must have an RN license before you can start IVs on real people in most states. This is law because IV's are an invasive procedure with serious consequences. This is why you only study the theory of it and practice on dummy arms.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Pediatrics, Geriatrics.
Dear Students. . .you must have an RN license before you can start IVs on real people in most states. This is law because IV's are an invasive procedure with serious consequences. This is why you only study the theory of it and practice on dummy arms.

Thank God that is not true for TN, MS, and AR. The BEST way to learn is to actually do it on a real patient. Dummy arms are nothing like the real thing.:)

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Specializes in Transplant, homecare, hospice.
Our school said that we will not learn how to start IVs. I thought all schools taught this. Instead we are just learning to see if the site is normal and how to change IV bags. They explained that they did not want to use a mechanical arm or fellow students.

Are there other schools like this?

We learned how to start IV's in the dummy's arm (not a live person :chuckle ). But then in clinicals, they sent us to an area that was called something like "preanesthia." And there, that's all they did....prior to surgery is start IVs all day long. We got a lot of practice on real dummy's (live people). Lol...:p

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Specializes in Neuro, Critical Care.
Our school said that we will not learn how to start IVs. I thought all schools taught this. Instead we are just learning to see if the site is normal and how to change IV bags. They explained that they did not want to use a mechanical arm or fellow students.

Are there other schools like this?

we are going to learn how to do it and my instructor said if we feel comfortable letting someone start one on us we can practice on eachother. We will see...i told my friend she could start one on me...i may regret that!:)

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Thanks for all of the input. I feel much better.

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Thanks for all of the input. I feel much better.

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Specializes in Emergency Department.

Wow--We started our first semester starting IV's--in the rubber arms but not on eachother. We have done them in clinicals since then--

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Dear Students. . .you must have an RN license before you can start IVs on real people in most states. This is law because IV's are an invasive procedure with serious consequences. This is why you only study the theory of it and practice on dummy arms.

Finished school in May. We began starting IV's in clinicals in 2nd semester.

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