will phlebotomy class help with starting IV?

[Ms.RN]

one nursing skill i'm not comfortable with is starting iv. i barely have any chance to start iv or draw blood at my current job. i thought it might be a good idea to learn the phlebotomy skill. is drawing blood same way as starting iv or are they totally different? do you draw blood at work or do phlebotomists come and do the regular blood drawing? do you think taking phlebotomy class might help with starting ivs?

[Rabid Response]

Where I work we have to draw all of our own labs and start all of our own peripheral IVs. The skills are similar but not exactly the same. It is much easier to draw blood than to start an IV because you can use veins to draw blood from that would not be suitable for IV placement. And half the battle is just finding the right vein.

If I were you I would not spend money on phlebotomy school or classes. The best way to learn is by doing. When I was still on orientation my manager sent me to the ambulatory surgery unit for two days just to do IV starts. Every patient that came to that unit needed an IV so I got lots of practice. Maybe you could put in a request to spend time on a unit like that at your hospital? If you can't spend time on another unit, put the word out at work that you need practice starting IVs and have your coworkers call you whenever they need one inserted.

[tackett]

the only thing that will help you to get better at starting IV's is to keep at it. Youll eventually get there the more you do.

[diane227, LPN, RN]

Let me give you a little tip I learned a few years ago. On these real old people their veins are very fragile and it takes almost nothing for the vein to blow. When I am starting a peripheral IV on them, I pull them over to the side of the bed and hang their arm off the side of the bed. I don't use a tourniquet. From gravity, the veins will pop up. I can then stick them and get the line without worrying about the back pressure from the tourniquet blowing the vein. Works almost every time.