Questions on Nursing School?

[Sunnie]

Hi I'm currently working on my pre-requisites and I will start Nursing School next fall. I'm curious how it works, I know that every school is different. My biggest fear is learning how to do IV's and drawing blood. My question is do you get to practice this in Nursing school or do you not get real time experience until you graduate and start working as an RN.

Thanks

[whipping girl in 07, RN]

You get to practice some in nursing school but mostly you learn it after you graduate. I had three IV start attempts in nursing school (all unsuccessful with instructor standing over me and my hands shaking). I had two more attempts during an elective internship (both successful with no teacher standing over me, just an RN who was my preceptor for the day). I've been working since January and I've had more opportunities at sticks, although I still am not great at it. Unfortunately, in ICU, most of our patients come in with lines in progress and end up with central lines if they will be there for very long. And when the floors call for us to start an IV, it's usually a really hard stick that 2 or 3 people have already tried.

So hang in there and be patient. You'll have plenty of chances to do all the stuff you didn't get to do in school.

[Sunnie]

Thanks for the helpful information. I really am looking forward to nursing school.

[SmilingBluEyes]

We actually practiced starting IV's on each other under the direct supervision of our nursing instructors (never on our own). Purpose? To give us some experience, PLUS give us a bit of sympathy for what patients endure at our hands. some of my class mates had never had an IV inserted prior to this and it was an eye-opener for THEM! You will get practice in clinicals, too, remember. Volunteer when you can to get the practice you need. but the REAL learning begins on the job. Try not to worry in school. Good luck.

[Mkue]

Hi Sunnie Welcome to the BB

Good Luck with Pre-Req's :wink2: