EMaas

Hmm..I always use the brachial on pt.s who aren't dehydrated or have flat veins. I go for the radial if I can't find an otherwise good vein. I always be sure my tourniquet is good and tight and I like to hold the vein flat when sticking. I always use a butterfly on elderly folks and peds and a vaccutainer on just about anyone else. I never, ever "dig" and I only stick twice. If no success, someone else gives it a shot. Hmm...rolling veins are always fun. I like to stabilize them with a finger on one side of it or downward pressure on the vein. Heating pads work well on flat veins...and that's about all of my advise. We do our own sticks, too, so we have lots of tricks up our sleeves! :-) Good Luck! EM

I am surprised that you aren't able to simply observe at the hospital where you work to get experience. We do general GXT's are our clinic ( graded excersise tests) and all of our persantine and sestimbs are done at the hospital in the cardiac care unit. We've been able to send two of our RN's and one MA over there to observe how they are done and what the nursing role is. I don't know of any extra cirricular training sessions, but are you sure you can't simply observe how these are done at the hospital? Good luck!