Well I've had a change in attitude since my last post. Today at clinicals I was working with my primary nurse and when things had slowed down for me I reminded her that if she had any skills or tasks that she should feel free to delegate to me as needed..especially if she had any IV's that needed started!!! I told her that no one in my clinical group had started an IV yet and as soon as she heard that she said, "WHAT? Are you kidding me? Well, your first one isn't going to be on a patient! Come on..." So we went into an empty patient room (along with a couple other fellow classmates) and we all had the chance to start an IV! :)
Let me just say starting an IV on an actual human being is nothing like my awful experience with that stupid mannequin!! I got everything set up and she helped me look at all my different options for starting an IV and after she told me that she hates starting IVs on the back of the hand I proceeded to start one on the back of her hand! FIRST STICK! I was so excited as I just barely got the needle in there and I GOT A FLASHBACK!!! WOOT! I advanced the catheter all the way in, put pressure on her vein, pulled the needle out...and she proceeded to bleed...thankfully it wasn't a large amount of blood and I didn't panic (I didn't even sweat!!! HOLLAR!!!) and I got everything hooked up and flushed her vein...yes, I had a good line! I didn't blow the vein or anything! All of my fellow students got the IV in on the first stick too, only they didn't make a bloody mess like I did!! :)
So then a few minutes later my instructor was walking by saying that a patient needed some blood drawn and would any of us like to do it, so I jumped on that like my life depended on it! Went in there with confidence and got the stick on the first try again! I also think it might have helped that it's tiny needles that you use to draw blood!! :) Good 'ole butterfly needles! I filled up my tubes and that was that...again no pouring of sweat episodes so that was a huge relief! 3/4 of us today got to start IV's and do a blood draw!
I think my greatest advice is to just have confidence. If you don't show the patient that you're nervous then they don't freak out and it makes the experience a lot easier. So...for those of you who need an IV started or some blood drawn..I'm your girl! Now if you're dehydrated or don't have veins that pop out and yell my name, then that might be a different story, but practice makes perfect right?!?!
So I can sleep now knowing that I'm not a complete oaf when it comes to IVs!!! :) That's a huge sigh of relief!!!
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