bagbaje26

Thank you for all the responses!

i am starting a new position in 3 days and know that chances of doing overtime will be limited during my 3 month er orientation. in preparation for lesser hours, i signed up to work with 2 agencies. that was 4 weeks ago. i am yet to work a shift with any of these agencies. each morning, i wake up with "they wouldn't need you at macneal today" or whatever other hospital they signed me up to work in. i know with time, i'll be able to work w/an agency who will send me to a couple of hospitals on a regular basis especially when i get tele experience. while waiting for that day to come, i wanted to see if anyone knows of odd nursing jobs that are not the traditional supplemental work (agency or registry) that rns can go into. any other untapped section of nursing that most rns don't know about. any other field that could use an rn where i can find guaranteed part time positions? right now, agency and registry are a last resort as my ideal part position won't be as stressful as my regular job any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. thank you in advance!

Thank you so much everyone. All these tips I've put together at my work place. Two days after I read your responses, I was able to place a 22G in an older lady with very fragile veins. Today, I placed a 20G in a pt that was considered a difficult stick. Thank you, thank you, thank you everybody. Thanks to everyone I've been able to pay attention to my own technique. I am no longer sticking patients with the fear that I'll blow the vein. It's amazing what a couple of successful incidents will do to my confidence level. ... Please keep the tips coming. There are some new grads on this forum that are also devouring these tips. Bosede

I have been a RN for 1.5 years now. When I started nursing, I was pretty decent in placing IVs, probably not with placing difficult sticks. I knew the mechanics of it, but was probably not aware of my particular technique. All I know is that I often go in flush with the skin. However about 5 months ago, I noticed a decline in my IV insertion rate. I never have a problem getting in the vein. However, nowadays, I blow all my good veins. I often get a good flash of blood, filling the catheter chamber but by the time I thread it through I’ve blown the vein. Sometimes, I blow the vein immediately after getting into it. I understand that we can’t avoid blowing veins when they’re weak, but I also blow very good, 20, 18G type veins. I am concerned because I know where to find the good rarely used veins. However, I know something has changed in my technique that’s causing me to blow these very good veins. One experienced RN on my floor told me that once I enter the vein, I might be pulling back the needle too soon or too late. I will like more suggestions on what I might be doing wrong. This has become my major stressor in nursing. I love the pace of nursing but I’ve definitely lost confidence in my IV skills, a very important nursing skill. Most of the time when I have a patient on continuous IVF, all I can think about is that I hope the IV last for the rest of my shift because it’s really difficult to find someone else to help place it. We often differ to the clinical specialist on my unit, who hasn’t been too forthcoming in helping me improve my skills. I’ve talked to our clinical educator, the specialist about having a session in the ER, PACU, GI and other units where IV insertion is a constant task. They continue to give me the run around about not being able to arrange this (something about labor laws and overtime even though they are aware I will be doing it on my own time). I will at least like to get the good veins and worry about difficult sticks later. I will definitely appreciate any tips from everyone. If anyone is in the Chicago area and have suggestions about where I can get good practice on my own time please I am very open to it. Thank you in advance.