virtual IV (laerdal) vs. doing a real IV

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · Jun 19, 2010

In my class we had both a virtual simulation and we also practiced on mannequin arms. It's hard to say - starting an IV can be easy if your patient has nice veins but most of the time they don't, so that makes it even more difficult. I had a very hard time with the virtual simulation - it didn't make sense to me. I think you learn better by actually DOING the skill because you are actually feeling for veins and actually holding a real needle/IV cannula and learn to get the real technique down.

Remember that feeling is always better than seeing when it comes to veins! And practice makes perfect. Are you competent at doing blood draws? The technique is very similar, except with an IV start there are just a few extra steps.

RNTutor, BSN, RN · Jun 19, 2010

It's a tricky skill, and to a certain extent you just have to "get a feel" for it to become good. Is your virtual IV the kind that has a physical "arm" with a slot for the "needle", and you just have to adjust the angle and and depth for the computer to tell you if you hit it? I had one like that in nursing school although it was kind of fun, I'm not sure it was a huge help in learning to do a real IV stick.

I didn't get to try my first IV until I got my first nursing job. That's pretty much how it's done around here, not sure about other areas of the country. I felt lucky because I worked in a pediatric Operating Room...which meant the kids were asleep before we started the IV! So when I was learning, I didn't have to worry too much about hurting them.

My job scheduled a morning for one of the anesthesiologists to teach us how to do IV starts. She assumed we already knew the basic technique, so she just took us into the OR and supervised while we took turns trying (on different patients, not a million sticks on one!). We all were able to get an IV start on the 2nd or 3rd try at most.

It definitely gets easier, and I loved learning this in the OR not only because the patients were usually anesthetized already, but also because most of the anesthesiologists were very good at IVs and were willing to give me pointers and help me improve.

The best IV advice that I would give would be to look for a good IV site. Unless it's policy, don't necessarily just pick the same site every time. Pick a location that is most comfortable for the patient (important!!) but also looks like you have a vein you can hit. Sometimes you can't see the vein, but if you are familiar with some anatomy you can guess where the vein probably is and sometimes you can palpate it. There have been a couple times when I have hit a good IV from just an educated guess of where it was located, though...those were proud moments!

So I guess I would say that I think the real IV is easier in general, but of course you will have some tough patients. I think the "hardest" part, though, is just doing your first real IV because it's a little scary!

LETRN · Jun 19, 2010

Don't get frustrated...it is SO different on a real person, those simulations are only good for learning the order of the technique and things like that. It is truly a skill you have to do over and over on real people to master. I did about 10 IVs in clinical when I was a student, and still wasn't that great at it. Now that I'm in the ER working I do about a dozen a DAY, and it is like second nature. Don't fret!

That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Jun 19, 2010

Completely different. The only thing I found the virtual useful for is learning everything you need and the procedure associated with it.

scifihippie · Jun 22, 2010

Thanks for the advice and tips. I'm going again tomorrow to practice and will try to concentrate on the procedure and not the exact technique.

I think some of my frustration is coming from my own experience. I am a hard stick. It took 11 tries from two nurses and the anesthesiologist when I was having my daughter. I just hate the fact that I might have to stick a pt multiple times.