IV's/Blood draws as FNP

[mka0141]

I have a really dumb question. I am in school to become an FNP, after being a bedside RN for a year and hating it. I want a non-acute setting to really connect with patients in. Anyway, one skill as an RN I am absolutely horrible at is starting IV's, and blood draws are a close second. In the hospital, I can usually find help if and when I fail to start an IV. Do FNPs commonly perform these skills?

Thank you in advance. And PLEASE, I don't need to hear any more "practice makes perfect," I've practiced-- A LOT. I'm just bad at this skill, end of story.

[BirkieGirl]

i have never been great at them either, and share in an IV phobia...that said, i have been in a private practice for nearly 20 years an am now returning to an acute care floor job so this is forefront on my mind!!!!!

i cross paths with multiple NP providers that are part of my practice and NOT ONE of them starts IVs, gets blood, etc. however, when i worked in acute care many years back there were NPs employed by the hospital that DID starts, as somebody else mentioned, primarily in the ER/trauma.

[kjh3083RN]

I work in Trauma/ICU with Surgeons, MD's, NPs and PA's, the surgeons and MD's will put in central lines in an instant but never have I seen a NP or PA place a line or draw blood. The RT's actually place all of our PICCS and ART Lines in ER or in the Unit. In the ER the NPs and PA's suture and do I&Ds, I believe those are the skill sets more in line with the NP role than IV placement.

In a clinical setting, the draws are typically sent out to other labs or the medical assistant/phlebotomist are the ones who draw the labs. Good luck in your journey!

[Oakley44]

I model my practice after an old doctor I used to work with who said "If it doesn't take a doctor to do it - I don't do it and neither should you" so that relates to phone calls ad nauseam, PAs, walking to the waiting room to retrieve people, etc. I'm sure you could do this if you wanted, yet it sounds like you don't.

Now, having said that, do you think you'd be able to suture, incise an abscess, inject a joint, et al?

Really? Now maybe it's cause I've only ever worked in the ER, but I routinely do things that the techs normally do; not just cause Kaiser is too cheap to hire a reasonable amount of techs (i.e two techs for 40 - 50 patients) I do these things when I can and when the outcome is possibly a better patient relationship due to the more efficient delivery of care.

I've seen many patients role their eyes and talk sh-t about an MD who left the room saying I'll get your nurse in response to them asking the doc if they could turn the "lights down" or "have another blanket" (when the resolution is 3 - 5 feet away). Not only is this kind of behavior rude and inconsiderate, it's actually counterproductive and, ultimately, self-defeating.

[adventure_rn, MSN, NP]

As PPs have said, I think it depends entirely on where you practice. If it's something that you have to do frequently, I'm sure it will get easier with time (like just about any nursing skill). Have you confided in any instructors about your concerns?

On my unit (NICU), we have a 'four strikes, you're out' policy: the RNs collectively get 4 attempts to get an IV on a kiddo (max two per nurse), then we have to call an NNP. This always surprises me, since the bedside nurses start IVs way more often than the NNPs; therefore, it seems like the RNs would actually have better luck.