Boom Chicka Bam Bam

Guess who finally got an IV into a patient today?

I 'bout peed my pants I was so excited. I wanted to break into a dance at the bed side, but contained myself.

So here's how a little back ground: Currently doing my rotation at a pediatric ED. On my first day (night?), my preceptor said, "Do you want to do the next IV?"

I was all, "Really?! I can do that?! You know I haven't ever done that...we never even learned or practiced or anything..." (for some reason they don't teach us how to start/insert IVs in nursing school)

She said it was fine...and then 'taught' me how to insert an IV. We each took an IV needle out of a package and practiced in the air. That' right. I didn't get any practice sticking a plastic arm or my nurse's arm.

Amazingly, on the first night, I actually stuck the patient and had blood return. But when we went for the blood draw, there was no blood collecting in the tube. Somehow I blew that line. And this continued for five or six days...I would stick someone and something would happen: the tube would kink, suddenly I would lose sight of the vein, the vein would roll, or the vein would collapse.

To my credit I always tried. One day, I was feeling down and when my preceptor asked if I wanted to start the line, she saw my face and how I was about to sigh and then she said, "Let's do it! It's a three day old!" (as if that was supposed to encourage me).

Most of the times that I failed, my preceptor would then try and have to get another nurse to get the line. That made me feel a bit better sometimes, but still...I was beginning to feel like I was the devil nurse out to terrorize little kids.

Yesterday, towards the end of the shift, a nurse took me to a room and let me practice starting the IV on her. For one, she taught me how to tie the tourniquet. She taught me about where to enter the vein. How to thread the line. Oh my gosh, she taught me exactly how to get the IV line! I tried once in her hand, once in her forearm, and finally, once in the antecubital space (inner elbow). The third time was a charm. I got it!

Now today, towards the end of shift, we had a teenager who needed a line. I set up my supplies. My preceptor this time stood on the opposite side of the bed (every other time she hovered over me) and holy batman I GOT IT!

I saw the blood return, I pushed in a bit futher, threaded the line, locked into place, taped down, removed needle drew blood, flushed the line and taped down. Truth: once I was in my preceptor helped me connect some of the extras to get the blood draw and helped with the taping down.

But still! I did it! On a patient! And yes, that was me hopping and dancing outside the patient's room in the hospital.