Before my Complications for IV therapy story begins I want to thank nursing staff everywhere for your kindness and compassion and Nurse Becca for her faith in my ability to bring this issue to you via her blog as it is truly a unique issue that many may not have ever even had to happen to them. IV Needle or Cannula Breakage.
The Big Sneeze is a funny title, but it is where the scare of my life began at age 23.
As a nurse, you know that patient issues like those complications for IV therapy that occur from time to time can be scary for those of us on the receiving end. In my case, I was being seen by a well experienced and bubbly spirited nurse in the ER of the Hospital in Blythe California.
At the time I was working construction during a flu epidemic and between a mild case of flu, my job in the summer heat, and an anxiety attack I landed in the Emergency Room in need of IV fluids among other medications. I Never expected complications for IV therapy.
Sadly, I cannot remember my Nurse’s name to thank her directly, but she turned an awfully bad situation into a less scary and quite interesting experience. See during the placement of the IV a sudden sneeze came over her and the darned needle putting the IV in broke off in my arm.
A Sudden Look of Shock Was Quickly Replaced by A Calm Professional Demeanor.
My nurse admitted afterward these complications for IV therapy had never happened to her, but she quickly put her thumb on the vein, reattached the tourniquet, and got the doctor to come in quickly. All while telling me I had a car in the expressway in need of directions. She then explained that the needle had broken off in the vein and they were about to remove it to make sure it did not travel to any place that could cause harm.
What sounded like a bit of light attitude for an urgent situation, built trust in her as a professional because at first, she put me at ease about the complications for IV therapy I was experiencing. The nurse then explained the situation in clear language that was easy to understand.
I was so thankful for that as I have always been the type to come into a bad situation with a list of bad jokes and nurses and doctors alike have had mixed reactions. Especially when I needed hospital care some of the people, I have encountered were zombie-like in the performance of their duties.
Complications for IV Therapy Like This are Seldom but How You Handle This Can Make a Huge Difference.
A few years later I had another anxiety attack and was in the hospital again with every symptom of a heart attack. Even the firefighters said the EKG test looked like a possible inner wall heart attack and sent me code 3 to the Hospital in Parker Arizona 45 miles away.
The paramedics were of great attitude but every member of the Parker staff caused total alarm and escalation of my state because not only were they of poor humor they would not tell me anything about what they were doing, why they were rushing around, or why I needed so many tubes and hoses, wires and such. That is a scary situation for a 24-25-year-old who thinks he is having a heart attack.
Even when it was all over the Doctor was not very friendly and the nurse barely spoke to me as all that stuff was removed and I was sent home with a new medication for acute anxiety. During my stay, they missed the vein on my hand putting in the IV and my hand ballooned up. This is more common in complications for IV therapy.
The only excuse I was given was this sometimes happens. Well why does it happen, and will I be OK were the questions my young mind was afraid to ask. I was not impressed, not happy, very scared, and even angry over my care at points. The relationship with staff was symptomatic of a systematic failure to give patient care beyond treatment.
The Big Failure, in My Opinion, was a Disconnect from the Patient as an Individual Some Nurses and Doctors Do Not Have.
I mean some of you handle us patients with extreme care, total professionalism, a light dose of humor, and explain things so we have little fear of what is coming. Others act like we are a number and getting us out of there is more fuel for the money machine.
They are paid by the hour or job regardless of how you think your experience went and do not really care about you. Before you get in that ER or Patient’s room if you think about the things a patient may be going through, put a smile on, maybe brush up on a joke or so and remember we are mom’s dad’s children and people we can all be happier in our roles in a bad situation.
I know the pain of losing a party in your care. If you get attached this can be a big burden. I was a volunteer firefighter and later cared for my dad until the end of his life. It is not a cool part of the job but even a good smile and attitude can make things like complications for IV Therapy less scary and more of a community-building event. You are a representative of patient care no matter your job and reputation matters.
Again, thank you to the nurses that have shown robots are far and few between in your field. Customer care is on your mind, and there are humans on both sides of the situation.
Hello there, thanks for sharing this awesome article I know it would be of great help to the article as it has been of help to me. I must say this article is has a lot to offer when it comes to this kind of issue and I think with this knowledge I can up my game.
hello awesome article you have here. this really caught my attention i just could not ignore it, am sure this article is going to help anybody that comes across it most especially those in the medical sector i loved the way you explained it for your readers to understand great job thanks for sharing with the public
Dear Joy,
Thank you! I enjoy your response
Kind Regards,
Nurse Becca:)
Wow, that could scare the hell out of anyone. I was wondering why such a long-tail keyword. Not until I read the second paragraph. Thank goodness, that it was then when sneezing was a normal thing and a natural occurrence. If it is in this period of Covid-19, that could have caused a different reaction altogether. As you rightly said, yes medical complications do happen and the doctors and nurses have their code way of covering things up.
And these days, you can see the best and worst of these health care workers. Many of them, don’t have or practice the ethic of the profession. The Nightingale spirit is lacking these days among some of the health care workers. While many of them are the real deal. They have the heart and skills for caring and they do it so efficiently and professionally.
I empathize with you over your health issues. I hope for permanent healing.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful experience. I hope your readers will benefit from your story.
Favorme.
Thank you for sharing a lovely, informative article with us. The chief item of this article is Treat Complications for IV Therapy with Attitude and Urgency. It is truly amazing that you covered this subject so well in your post. I’ve learned a lot from reading your post and gained a lot of knowledge about it. I like Complications for IV Therapy of the points in your article.
I have read and enjoyed your article so I would like to share your article with my friends by sharing it in the Facebook group so that everyone can know about your article and gain knowledge about it.
Thank you so much for your support and interest in this work
Hi Becca, your post has been very useful. I have been researching on how to treat complications of IV therapy and I had gathered a lot of technical information but I loved the focus of this article on attitude.
Because I have been researching, I would like to share with all your readers and you what I have discovered concerning how to prevent IV complications. I could sum it up in a few simple steps: We need to select an appropriate IV site, avoiding areas of flexion. It’s important to use proper venipuncture technique. There surely is a facility policy for securing the IV catheter. So we should follow it by all means. Very important, we should observe the IV site frequently. And last but not least, we should advise our patient to report any swelling or tenderness at the IV site.
I love your reply!
Hello Becca, this post poses to be a really helpful one and I can’t deny that. I have never heard about this complication of IV therapy before and since I have come to understand what it is and how this article can help a lot of people is what I really love. Some of us have suffered from it without having an understanding of what is going on and that is really sad. Such article would be really helpful.
Hi there,
I agree an awareness is important, both for medical providers and people in general. Technology is always changing, and we have to innovate this into best practice along the way. I feel it is a privilege to present, and appreciate your interest in my work.
Kind Regards,
Nurse Becca
Wow! You have really been through it all. Though this is the first time I would be hearing about a complication of the IV therapy. But thank you that yoga re teaching us from your own experience on what to do and how to combat it. This is a great thing from you and thank you so much for sharing with us all.
Dear Kimberly,
You’re very welcome. I enjoy the team spirit of this project. Andy went above and beyond to contribute. Thank you for reading and your comment.
Kind Regards,
Nurse Becca
-R. Nixon, RN, CLNC
Good article here and I just had to make sure that I read through everything that you have written here and I am also very sure that this one will help anyone that is in the medical sector and needs something like this. There is no denying that the name of the post is funny but it was really worth the read as it caught my attention.
Dear Jay,
I like what Andy did with the title, too! It makes the problem into a community learning activity. Thank you for reading and your input!
Sincerely,
Nurse Becca
-R. Nixon, RN, CLNC
The story in this article is a good one. I had my bad days with health professionals, especially doctors. I think that most nurses really do care about the overall health conditions of the patients. I’ve seen nurses went face to face with doctors who didn’t follow the given protocol and were corrected. All of this for the patient. I’m not saying that all doctors are bad. But there are a few that really do care about the patients than just a number. I also think that patients should feel comfortable regardless of the seriousness of their treatments. A smile can go a long way when it comes to build a trusting relationship with the patient. Thanks to all the first responders out there that are putting their lives on the line to save another during this pandemic of Covid19. Thanks for the article.
Dear John,
It is a privilege, you’re quite welcome of course!:) It can be tough to coordinate, and communicate these ideas for wellness and care. I wasn’t sure how to write on this concept, and tried out videos for tik tok, of the process but this captures the idea really well. Andy was kind enough to give extra time from the patient shoes. The original story that got me thinking of the idea was a case of cut down for access in an emergent surgery. A long time ago, it left severe scarring for someone who needs ongoing infusions. Because I was providing a nursing role, that specific writing is protected by HIPAA privacy law. And respect for the person.
We happen chance thought of the idea to make it a blog topic for more discussion, and it really has warmed my heart with responses. Andy was able to help me bring my patient story for awareness while still following the rules for protecting health information. Since he was not my patient and provided the content with a subcontract, we are able to help in open education. It feels like a great fellowship, and that is the power of Wealthy Affiliate.
Thank you for taking the time to read and reply to it.
Kind Regards,
Nurse Becca
The fact this is written by a nurse already fills the reader with confidence. As I was reading this, I was beginning to freak that the IV had broken in your arm but luckily they got it out. I know I would be kind of stressed and maybe a bit freaked about what had happened.
Dear Casonn,
I agree it would freak me out to have to go through that! Andy is a trooper. I’m feeling flattered and thankful from reading your comment.
Sincerely,
Nurse Becca
Hi and thanks for your timely post. With so many dealing with hospitalizations, and a busy hurried staff, things can go wrong. Being up front and transparent in a professional manner, as a rule puts the patient at ease as much as possible. From experience, having a surgeon with a professional manner as well as a sense of humor, put a serious situation into a much better prospective for us with a much more favorable outcome than the physician who was standing at his side, wringing his hands.
Dear Carolyn,
Great points, thank you for joining the discussion
Product deficiency can be a source of problem as well. And it is up to providers to keep abreast of manufacture recalls and reporting complications from equipment malfunction. For example, if an infusion pump or the cannula itself is defective. Health care providers strive to avoid complications. But you are right. Avoidable adverse events can be the fault of individual providers. Many of them are not carrying the professional liability protection for their licenses.
I appreciate your thoughts and interest in my work.
Cordially,
Nurse Becca
-R. Nixon, RN, CLNC
That was an amazing article, My self has had E.R. issues and I can really relate What did they need to do to get the I. V. out of you’re arm.
My wife was upset anxiety bad instead of giving her something to calm her down the nurse asked me to sit with my wife hold her hand talk to her and keep her calm well for an hour and a half I watched her blood pressure go from normal to 170.
3 times well they came in and took her for a C.T. scan, I went to talk to the nurse I asked if they were going to give my wife something to calm her down she was taking a patients blood pressure and told me she was busy to go back to my wife’s.
Room and continue holding my wife’s hand and talking to her well she got back for the next hour I watched her blood pressure go up then down 2 more times, so hears some more ER etiquette the ER doctor came in without no sedative.
Nothing to calm her down came in and said Ms.Wright by the way you have an abnormality on the bake left side of your brain you need to get looked at.
Well, my friend, this was the second stage of my wife’s ongoing stroke.
My opinion is these people need to be put in the same situation.
Thank you, Andy, for this touch home article