Arterial Blood Gas Sampling

do i have any agreements that it REALLY looked liked she didnt even get it....Im thinkin thats def. a venous sample....it didnt even fill fast at all and is very dark

nice

If it will be your first time on a patient try not to be nervous. I find that most people are accepting to allow new students to do them. When I first started as an RT a patient asked me if I was any good at doing arterial blood gases. Being my first ever abg on a person I told the truth. "I haven't missed one yet"

This has to be the single most fun part of being a respiratory therapist for me. They can be a challenge sometimes depending about the patient. I think the problem is that people have one bad encounter and assume all RT's are going to cause them a lot of pain. I would hope that most of us are pretty good at what we do. I love the satisfaction of having a patient tell me it didn't hurt or "you can do my abg anytime." Practice makes perfect.

haha the lady getting it done looks hilarious

The thing i find great diffculty with is i just cannot see the artery,
unlike veins which are blue green & on the surface,

2.) Lidocaine can be used in some circumstances but rarely is due to time constraints (mainly in emergency situations). Chiefly it is up to the MD ordering the procedure.
3.) I would rather have someone be over cautious rather than nonchalant, especially with the site being easily contaminated.
4.) There are no such tests due to the fact that they are not bilateral. This is why such risks should be assessed by the MD and not the preforming technician.

Sorry to say hun, but your hypocondriac

First off.. the area is not easily contaminated. Second of all its not that painfull. 3rd is a very very small and fast procedure.

I do 20-30 of these a day and their done in one minute or even less.. The way you make it sound its like a 1 hour surgical procedure.... its not.

"very least there for a year"... so how do people earn to do this?

BE WARY OF INEXPERIENCE AND FISHERS! Massive complications can result if preformed incorrectly. If you don't feel comfortable with the person preforming the procedure, DO NOT let them proceed. It is your body and if they get aggressive, send them away. It is people like these that dont care for the patient and deserve no position in medicine. Best of luck to you all!

Unfortunately, I have to do ABG's on an almost daily basis. However, If ABG's are hurting you that bad, first make sure that a venous blood gas is not an alternative test that can be preformed. If not, make sure you have someone who is certified or in the very least there for a year with ample experience strictly with ABG's.