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"That's one of the things new nurses will struggle with," says Mr.
Lippert. "When I teach, I dwell on keeping the skin tight and waiting
until you're completely done advancing the catheter before you let
that skin loose."
Distract and conquer
Dr. Gravenstein prefers to call it "cognitive load," but keeping
the patient distracted and focused on anything other than the IV start
helps relieve anxiety and pain for the patient.
"You create a cognitive burden. You say, 'I want you to tap your left
foot,' continue the conversation, then say, 'I want you to tap your right
foot.' Force the patient to think about other things so they don't have
attention capacity available to where I'm starting the IV," says Dr.
Gravenstein.
Collecting kudos
If you can take steps to reduce the pain and stress associated with IV
starts, your patients will definitely appreciate it. And they likely won't
be shy about telling you.
"Patients will say, 'I didn't even know you were done' or 'Next time
I'm in the hospital, can I call and ask for you?'" says Mr. Lippert. "I
think if we can take that bit of discomfort away from the patient's
visit, that just makes the overall patient interaction that much better."
OSM
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IV Tips & Tricks
IV