STARTING IVs............OMG..............

icyounurse, BSN, RN · Jul 1, 2005

our school never taught us how to do iv's. i learned on the job.

BowlerRN · Jul 1, 2005

We had a one day lab on IV sticks, first we all practice on the rubber arm and then we all stuck each other. We had plenty of oppurtunities during clinicals and could do it with an instructor or an RN present. We could also practice on the rubber arm in the lab at any time that we wanted. I'm surprised to hear that some schools don't teach it, :uhoh3: I'm really bad at and still have little experience.

AussieKylie · Jul 1, 2005

Geez, those other new grad nurses were not being fair. In my school we get assessed on putting IVs up but the difference is there are many infusion pumps and knowing how to operate them can be tricky but like with anything new it takes practice. Geez, instead of those nursing grads being patronising why not be supportive.

I dont have much regard for those that have the attitude ' So better than ' when really they may have not encountered other clinical skills that your friend may have competence in.

There can be nasty people out there :cool:

wonderbee, BSN, RN · Jul 1, 2005

OP, you can see you're not the only one who didn't learn IV sticks in school. I don't think it's so much a matter of policy in my school what we do and don't get to practice, it's how safe the instructor feels with her/his group or individual students. We are practicing off our instructors' licenses. Some are more trusting than others. It also depends on their assessment of the student's skills and confidence level. I've seen some students in my group be given more independence and a broader range of practice than others.

I expect my instructors for this last semester are going to wait to pass us off onto our preceptors for IV insertions. In my third semester, I did get a try at a very dehydrated elderly man who seemed to have sawdust in his veins. He wound up getting a line.

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · Jul 1, 2005

Not only did we have to learn IV sticks on the rubber arm with veins the size of suction tubing, but my evil instructor waited till I was all done and then snorted and said, "Hmph! You just went right through that vein." Like she could tell. :rolleyes: And of course, I was so green I was almost in tears and apologising to the freakin' rubber arm. :chuckle

Well, I'm the one they call to get the hard sticks now, so don't let 'em get you down.

angie1982 · Jul 1, 2005

I too graduated from a school that did not teach blood draws or iv starts. It was the most petrifying thing that I had to do when I started my job as a GN. I am still awful at it, I can usually draw blood pretty well, buy I usually cannot start an IV to save my butt. To the OP that was very rude of the other GN's to make her feel bad for never learning. My instructors told us when we asked why we never learned these skills, " You will learn how to do them in the facility that you are working at, depending on your unit or hospital there are iv teams that start all the iv's or lab techs that draw all blood in some hospitals. If your hospital is not one of these places you will receive training in this skill. The also told us something to the effect of any person can learn how to draw blood or start an IV, but that their job was to teach us how to be an RN, that it does not take an RN to start an iv or draw blood. It makes me feel better to think about this when I have a hard time sticking a pt. It sounds kind of harsh and please do not flame me for this comment. I just feel that starting IV's and drawing blood is like other skills we learn in nursing school like inserting foley's doing straight caths, ng tubes (etc.) You can teach someone how to physically do these skills but it takes the knowledge of an RN or LPN who knows the meaning and rationales behind these practices and what adverse effects to look for and how to treat them.

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · Jul 1, 2005

You have a reasonable reason to be concerned. Why don't you try talking to someone in the nursing department and gets things cleared as to when exactly you should be learning this. Maybe there needs to be a modification in the program.

MIA-RN1, RN · Jul 1, 2005

My friend from nursing school recently started her first RN job, and she had a bad third day where all the new grads were testing out on skills. The first skill of the day was starting an IV, all the other girls (ABOUT 30 OF THEM) had all had experience starting IVs from their school. My friend was the only one there who had no experience with it what so ever. They made a spectacle of her like "What school are you from? I can't believe you have never done that before." She was almost in tears. We had never even learned how to tie a turniquet!!!!!!! I must have heard about 8 times during nursing school from various instructors that we will learn from our facility where we work on how to start IVs!!! Did our school lie to us? My friend is very upset and we are feeling inferior to other newcommers. What kind of IV experience do you guys have from school?????

We are not allowed to start IV's or take blood in our program (Assoc degree) I *think* its statewide (NY) but I don't know for sure. We saw a movie on how to do both on the first or second week of second semester, had a couple very basic exam questions, and that was that.

Me, I am getting certified in phlebotomy this summer as part of a job I just got, and I have been drawing blood anyway at my current job.

Starting IV's scares me a little, but not so much. I figure I'll learn when I hit the floor. Many of the nurses I have talked to seem to feel its pretty standard NOT to learn it in school here.

twinmommy+2, ADN, BSN, MSN · Jul 1, 2005

my school doesn't teach it either. I'm really hoping to not have the experience of the op either. I however did do some IV's in the Army when I was a combat lifesaver. So I'm hoping to remember some of that when its time.

actioncat · Jul 1, 2005

How silly that they would make a spectacle of her. We were taught IV starts in school, but not a heck of a lot of time was devoted to it. Your ability to practice it varied according to your clinical placement and luck. She will probably get plenty of practice on the job, so I don't understand what all the fuss is. really, now that I have been a nurse for over a year and I think back to what I learned in school it is always more theory that I wish I had. You can learn the skills on the job, but there always seems to be a need to know more theory. (And many consider the program I went to theory heavy.)

dettwiller5 · Jul 1, 2005

Some schools don't teach it. It all depends on the program.
As for the ones that made a spectabcle, i probably would have replied "To a school where my peers don't fall over themselves asking questions".

Marie-

If I am recalling correctly, you are from the Hampton Roads area. Whcich school does not teach how to give IVs? I'm just curious. I'm starting at Riverside In January and am wondering if it is their program to which you are reffering.

Sheri257 · Jul 1, 2005

My school wasn't big on students practicing anything on one another - they actively discouraged it, actually. I believe it was probably a liability thing - we were never asked/forced to sign any waivers, for whatever good that would have done (If you are forced to sign a waiver as a requirement for an educational program, many times the waiver will not hold up in court because it was coerced rather than voluntary...) So when I read about students giving each other shots of saline and practicing this and that one one another, I get a little queasy at the thought and am thankful I did not go to one of those schools.

Maybe the liability waiver wouldn't hold up in court, but as far as I know there hasn't been any lawsuits or problems like that. And we all felt much better prepared in clinical by practicing on each other. I'd rather do that than have little or no instruction in school. Seriously ... who wants to start out as a new grad never having done IV's? I wouldn't want to be in that position.

:coollook: