IV help

Boomer MS, RN · Dec 16, 2016

I feel like I am on a serious rut with IV starts. Each time I start an IV I'm getting in no problem but then after advancing it like halfway I am ALWAYS getting stuck on a valve or something. Have tried pulling back and pushing it again or trying the whole needle itself at a different angle and am either getting no where or blowing it. Really starting to get frustrated. Can anyone shed some light on what I'm doing wrong or what else to try? I will have people try in the same spot as me and get in no problem.

My best advice is to have a more experienced nurse there with you guiding your insertion while learning. The biggest error I repeatedly saw when learning myself and teaching others was that the nurse went at too steep an angle. Gently insert (read go slowly) into the vein and, when you get the flash, go a smidge further, staying parallel, not going deeper into vein. If you do, you are likely to go through the vein and blow it. You get better with the easy ones and get confidence with the hard ones. It will come with practice, practice, practice, I promise you. Even the best "IV queens" miss at times. Don't give up.

amoLucia · Dec 16, 2016

I used to open the clamp and let a REEEEALY little fluid help 'float' the cath along the vein. That seemed to be my 'go to' trick.

Per PP, the angle and being parallel make a difference too. And go SLOW.

Are you sure there's NOT some sclerotic knot (beyond to your insertion point) that's obstructing your advancement? Sometimes it's the site selection that's problematic.

I was one of those 'IV Queens' - did IVs all my career (nite shift (no IV team) and then in LTC). Once in a rare while, I MISSED too.