Tips & Tricks

Okay guys, in this lesson we’re going to talk about 10 tips and tricks to help you get your successful IV starts. Number one, think it through. So what does that mean? That means that you need to be thinking about the entire process from start to finish, what supplies you need, what Ivy selections. You’re going to think about, um, what catheter size, all of those things, including even future therapeutic management. You want to be thinking about this all the way from start to finish. Number two, bring two of everything. Why would you want to do that? Well, first off, you want to make sure that you have a backup. How unfortunate would it be if you start to get an IV and the vein blows and you have a really good vein, but the problem if you don’t have the staff down the hall that you can yell at.

You don’t have your coworkers and your friends to help you out and now you have to lower the bed or you have to go back and go get more supplies. That’s extremely frustrating for both the patient and yourself. So always bring two of everything. The trick here only show one and go in with the confidence and knowing that you’re only going to put that one in. Number three, know how the view works. Knowing how the entire device works is going to be to your benefit. There’s always a bevel that sticks out about two to three millimeters past the end of the catheter. When you insert it, what’s going to happen is you’re going to get into the vein and know that you’re going to have to go just a little bit further before the IVs actually in the vein. What you don’t want to do is get just a flash and have the only the bevel and then you’d try to push it in.

You end up kinking the IV. You don’t want that. The other thing is you always want to know where that bevel is, so bevel up all the time. Number four, bigger isn’t always better. What do I mean by that? What I mean is that you need to be able to have the confidence to put those IVs in and be confident in the size that you get, but you also don’t want to be overzealous. Just because you can put an 18 in doesn’t mean that you should, so always keep that in mind. Number five is traction. Anytime you go to set that Ivy, you want to anchor that Ivy down by applying traction and just a little bit of tautness to that skin to make sure that vein doesn’t move. Number six, Mark the spot. This is one of my favorite tips because it’s actually really cool.

What you can do is use the end of the cap of the IV to market spot. You push it into the right spot where it’s supposed to be and then you twist it and turn it. The great thing about this is after you’ve located your Ivy, you can do this to keep your spot. Instead of using a pin or some other thing that’s going to get wiped off of the court prep. By doing this, it allows you to continually see the spot where you need to go. Number seven, locating. There are three different ways that you can look at your specific IB site. You can either feel it, you can see it, or you can do both and obviously you want both. You want to be able to see and feel the Ivy that you’re going into. The next best thing you could do is pick a vein it you can feel.

You obviously want to be able to feel that Ivy, even if you can’t see it, it’s going to give you a greater likelihood of success. And lastly, you won’t see it. If you can see it, then that’s great and it’s always best to feel it. But if seeing the vein is your only option, that may be your only option. So use those tips when you’re selecting your IV site. Number eight, keep a free hand. I’m right hand dominant, so I’m gonna use my right hand to always place the IV, but I always want to keep my left hand free. It allows me the freedom to reach across, to grab the necessary supplies. All of those other things. You don’t have to call on other people to help you. Number nine, if you miss don’t fish. What I mean by this is that I’ve seen tons of nurses hurt their patients by actually fishing for the vein and when I say fish, what I’m talking about is the IVs almost inserted to the level of the vein and they actually will sweep side to side.

That actually causes tearing in the shearing of the tissues and it’s extremely painful. The patient also, you can ruin your stylette, you can ruin the IB catheter and you’ve got to start over anyway. What you need to do is retract the entire unit back to the surface, but don’t pull the whole Ivy stylette and the cannular out. You want to back up as far as you can and then redirect. You want to back up and redirect. You don’t want to sweep side to side. That just causes harm to your patient. And number 10 and this is probably one of the most important ones, is to speak with confidence going into your patient’s room and telling them, Hey, I’m here to put your IV in. I’m going to put your IV in. Not, I’m going to try always have that confidence. When you go put those IVs in and you’re going to have greater success.

I hope that these 10 tips and tricks are going to help you with your Ivy catheterization. Now go out and be your best self today, and as always, happy nursing.