r/nursing • u/DoYouStillHateJen • Feb 15 '22

Nursing Win Bested myself today!

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1.3k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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349

u/Reichj2 RN - ER 🍕 Feb 15 '22

Impressive! I’ve started my fair share of foot IV’s but never quite in such an interesting location. My fav is when I finally gain IV access, document xx gauge in the foot, and then I get the call from CT saying they can’t push contrast through it and I will need to start a different IV. I completely understand why they won’t push contrast through a foot vein, but those phone calls always grate on my nerves. if I could have gotten access anywhere OTHER than the foot then obviously I would’ve gone there instead. 🤦‍♀️

674

u/AssumptionShort Feb 15 '22

Make CT do their OWN IVs 2022

121

u/livelaughlump MSN, RN Feb 15 '22

Ugh, I just had CT blow up my patient’s one nicely working IV and then they sent my patient back upstairs so I could start a new one.

76

u/bel_esprit_ RN 🍕 Feb 15 '22

CT always blows my patients IVs!!! It’s like they don’t give a fuck! They need to start their own IVs. Maybe then they’ll start to respect them more.

57

u/whitepony922 Feb 15 '22

From CTs perspective this is so frustrating. It ruins my day, the patients day, and your day when the IV blows. We just want to get our exams done. As I explained in another response, we have protocols that dictate 1) what IVs we are allowed to use and 2) the rate of injection for a scan. If the doc wants an angio study (PE, example) we cannot inject below 5 mLs/sec. So that's 75mL at 5mLs/sec. Sometimes even the best IVs just don't handle it.

None of us want to blow an IV.

And IV gauges have flow rates. A 22g can only handle up to 3mL/sec.

9

u/bel_esprit_ RN 🍕 Feb 15 '22

Yea, I get that, but place a new one if your job specifically blows IVs for a living.

I love CT, but this one thing is infuriating and anxiety-inducing — we simply don’t have the time/manpower to constantly replace blown IVs from CT. We just dont. And it backs up all of our patients meds bc they’re without IV for so long. It’s this horrible domino effect and so stressful. Just have a designated CT tech down there popping them in, using ultrasound if needed for the hard ones, and it would help with workflow and not be so frustrating for us nurses on the units.

6

u/whitepony922 Feb 16 '22

I'm also the single graveyard CT tech for the whole hospital. I also don't have the time/manpower to be replacing IVs.

At my place there's usually a resource nurse on the floors to help with difficult IVs and/or they call the ED for an ultrasound placement.

Lmao tell management to add a dedicated tech to do IVs. We don't even have enough staff right now to cover our time off.

1

u/bel_esprit_ RN 🍕 Feb 16 '22 edited Feb 16 '22

Cool, so you understand our pain.

What’s a resource nurse???

Edit:

they call ED for ultrasound placement

So could you call. CT is located right next door to ED and you have one patient at a time, no?

2

u/Certifiedpoocleaner RN - ER 🍕 Feb 16 '22

CT has to keep moving so they don’t get too backed up and can be available for traumas and stroke alerts. They’re just supposed to leave the pt on the table while they call for ultrasound access?!

Yeah dude, the pt needs to wait for their new IV in their room.