Needles/IV cert.....YIKES!!

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I just found out during my LPN orientation, that we are going to be IV certified! I'm so afraid of this!! I had talked myself into believing that I can give shots and that it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but now we are doing IV's and blood draw too! I'm freaking out!

Anyone felt that way to find out later it wasn't a big deal after all???

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Specializes in Hospice, ER.

Yes! I couldn't imagine drawing blood. The first patient I tried to start an IV on screamed her head off and I ran out of the room (the RN was with me). I was so scared. After a couple of years in practice, I can pretty much get blood from a rock and can start IV's on all but the most difficult patients. Generally, if I can't get them, high-tech quality nurses have to. It's truly no big deal but in the beginning I was so freaked out!

Good luck. Remember, it take practice, practice, practice and time to become comfortable with your skills.

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

i am an rn who was an iv therapist for many years, nationally certified in it for many of them. i worked on an iv team that had lpns which is kind of a rare thing. i came to be interested in iv therapy because as a new rn graduate i was no incredibly bad at starting ivs you wouldn't believe i was the same nurse doing them these days. it is a skill just like any other. there is science behind the starting and maintenance of an iv. you just need to learn it. hitting a vein successfully takes practice. i tell people its like putting one pipe inside another pipe. the problem is that the pipe you are trying to get into is underneath some skin and you can't see it, so you have to depend on your sense of sight (what you can see) and touch (what you can feel) and what you know about the vein anatomy. i put together a bunch of weblinks to help people out with starting ivs. you will find them on post #5 of this sticky thread (https://allnurses.com/nursing-student-assistance/any-good-iv-127657.html) in the nursing student assistance forum. you can learn this skill. it takes patience and a lot of practice. just don't let your victims, er, i mean patients, know that they are being used for target practice. ha! ha! after each stick, review what you did or didn't do right or wrong and what you will do it the next time to improve your skill. that was how i eventually became a master at this and how you can achieve the same.

iv therapists get to the point!

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Specializes in DD, PD/Agency Peds, School Sites.

LOL...I am just about to start LVN school, but in my previous profession as the official splinter removing elementary school teacher on board, I am guessing there will be some similarities. You would have thought there was a two-by-four stuck in some of these kids. They'd howl before I even got close!!!

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Specializes in DD, PD/Agency Peds, School Sites.

Daytonite, you rock. Well said!!!

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Specializes in Post acute, LTC.

I have not done IVs yet which i am nearvous about as well but I have drawn blood before. once you get over sticking someone with a needle for your first time to get blood its not so bad. You get used to it, you just have to practice like anything else. The firth time I drew blood I sat there with the needle pointing back and forth for like 5 minutes lol, but once I did it was motivated to keep doing it so i could get it right, my goal is to become one those peopel that is so good at it they cant even barely feel it! :)

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Be excited that you get to be IV certified through your school!!!

We are not, and I am pretty disapointed about it honestly. I don't understand why it is not a standard part of LPN education. Atleast doing it through school, you will have it out of the way and on your resume when you walk out the door, instead of it being a negative when you get out in the career world and don't have it.

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