I haven't inserted an IV in over 4 years. And I don't want my first "tries" to be on a patient after all this time.
I asked one of the medical residents if she felt brave enough to allow me to try IV insertion on her
She agreed, so long as I let her try one on me too!
I used to be deathly afraid of having a needle, but I got over that fear from when I was in the hospital and for some months afterward because I had to be poked so many times. Now I don't care.
Anyway, Trish hasn't had the chance to try an IV on a real person; she's only done them on practice dummies. I'm a large person, and my veins are very fine and quite deep, and not the easiest too get, even for the most experienced people. But I'm going to let her try anyway. I've got another resident thinking about it, so we may have an IV insertion party on the ward on Friday!
PS: I had a great time on the ward today. I wish it were longer than 4 hours
I helped with assessments and palpated the tummies of pregnant women to find the position of their babies, and did fetal heart rate ultra sound. It was so cool! On Friday I'm going to take 1 patient. I could take more but I still want to read some of the information binders and work on getting familiar with the changes in the forms and equipment. By the end of next week I'll be taking a 1/2 patient load and giving out medications.
After the IV insertion I need to brush up on catheter insertion and sterile technique. I tell you that while I remember the stuff, putting it into practice after all these years is so very different. I feel like I'm learning on the job because everything, and I mean everything has changed ... policies, procedures, equipment, supplies, paperwork.... I can't believe how many changes there have been. It's a bit daunting that I have to relearn all of that stuff again.
I asked one of the medical residents if she felt brave enough to allow me to try IV insertion on her
I used to be deathly afraid of having a needle, but I got over that fear from when I was in the hospital and for some months afterward because I had to be poked so many times. Now I don't care.
Anyway, Trish hasn't had the chance to try an IV on a real person; she's only done them on practice dummies. I'm a large person, and my veins are very fine and quite deep, and not the easiest too get, even for the most experienced people. But I'm going to let her try anyway. I've got another resident thinking about it, so we may have an IV insertion party on the ward on Friday!
PS: I had a great time on the ward today. I wish it were longer than 4 hours
After the IV insertion I need to brush up on catheter insertion and sterile technique. I tell you that while I remember the stuff, putting it into practice after all these years is so very different. I feel like I'm learning on the job because everything, and I mean everything has changed ... policies, procedures, equipment, supplies, paperwork.... I can't believe how many changes there have been. It's a bit daunting that I have to relearn all of that stuff again.