Published Apr 27, 2016
Kiplin
4 Posts
I am an RN with 1 year experience in med/surg. I know med/surg is great for experience, but I really want to get out of the hospital setting so I have a regular sleep schedule. I have just interviewed for an awesome-sounding position in outpatient oncology! I am excited for the opportunity, but the nurses must start IV's on patients as well as draw their own labs. We don't practice IV's in school (except 20 minutes with a fake arm) and the only experience I could get from my current hospital is 4 hours in the ED. My background pre-nursing is vet tech, so I have experience there drawing blood and placing IV catheters on a daily basis.
The part I'm worried about is being able to find IV's on humans. I've read many many threads on this website, all the tips such as taking your time, dangling the arm, warm compress, straightening the arm, pumping the fist, looking at both arms, sounding confident even if I'm not...etc. My last several attempts I've done all these things but after two tries, I've had to ask someone else to put my IV in for me I know I have IV skills, but I need human experience!
I've tried the options my hospital will offer me, I take all the opportunities I can on the floor, and my parents and in-laws both offered their arms as guinea pigs so I will be working with them this weekend (my mom and mother-in-law are both career nurses, so they understand), but I feel like I need more one-on-one instruction and more consistent practice. I would really love to find a phlebotomy course to attend. I don't need the certification that takes several months with multiple classes, I want something that will help with my skills now - I want to present in my second interview at the oncology center that I am working to improve my IV skills so I am more desirable and am able to do well if they end up offering me the position.
I am looking for something in south-central PA or MD. I am not finding many options that aren't entire certification programs. If anyone has any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it!!!