IVing it up

Hi!


So, the much anticipated IV certification class was today! I still have not been on the floor during orientation because my state takes *forever* to get our license numbers, and the hospital needed to be SURE that I passed NCLEX. But, they finally got it today and I will be starting on the floor monday!! Ah!!! Look for a scaredy cat post Sunday night? Probably.

Anyway, today was the IV class, which I was actually really excited about. I've spent the last five years holding arms down for nurses and being literally right there watching them do every move. I've been taught by experienced nurses how to pick the best veins, how to get the good sticks, and I've watched the procedure done a couple hundred times, but never have legally been able to do it! Until now!

So of course the class was mostly lecture (a whole ninety-eight minutes!!!) and the whole time I was wiggling around in my seat because I just wanted to DO IT. Of course, the 5 hour energy I took before the class probably didn't help that ( I literally almost ran into the building because I was so excited).

Because I couldnt wait to actually do it, I actually volunteered to go first and that is very rare. I am never the first volunteer. I'm usually hiding in back until I watch everyone else do it and mess up first and then I'll try. But I felt I had a pretty good handle on it and I wanted to dive right in.

For the most part, I got everything right! It's really just a matter of getting all the steps down and engraining them into your brain so that the order comes naturally. Its hard to remember all the little steps sometimes. And the hardest part sometimes is finding the right vein.


All that aside, I have the feeling that I will be one of those nurses that is really good at IVs and gets called by other floors to come do theirs. With a lot of experience that is. I probably just jinxed it by saying that, but I really do think/hope I'll be good at it. I've always had a "feeling" for those types of things, I'm good at sort of just....knowing...which vein to go after and I am pretty good at feeling others pain. 


So, yay! Despite watching for five years and sucessfully sticking a plastic arm, I'm still undoubtedly going to be very nervous for my first human! I think its going to be more of a matter that the person will be able to tell its my first time, because I will have the natually tendency to be constantly looking to my preceptor for reassurance and thats kind of a dead giveaway. If I could practice on someone that doesn't mind that fact or is kind of unconcsious, then yay! (lol I'm such an awful person, i know).


So....monday it all begins. Get ready for some interesting posts!


~WNB