Digging for veins

I donate platelets once a week, and this lady has never missed me, but she dug around for 5 minutes on this particular day.

Haha, enjoy?

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• blood
• phlebotomy
• digging
• vein
• needle
• phobia
• nerve
• damage
• bruise
• frumpy

[Alynras]

Sometimes "fishing" as we call it here is better then resticking the pt only if you know what you are doing and where you are going to go. Such as if only the vein was a little to the side of where you went then yes you would look for it and reangel it and go at it. Days like this will happen because we are only human...

[ldleold]

You could have said "stop"

[iloveslowdive1]

jaydedhart thats why you anchor the vein so it dosen't move yeah it isn't easy but its not rocket science either

[jrsweeney21]

I agree. It can be a daunting task to set an IV. There are many variables when it comes to patient's and their veins. I can't imagine any patient jumping for joy when they hear that they're going to need an IV or bloodwork. Why weren't they using a butterfly? The guage on that thing looks rather large. After setting this type of needle it isn't customary to "tape it up" so that it doesn't move out of the vein once it's set?

[jaydedhart]

I would personally love to see ALL the people who are complaining about this video actually perform this task. Not every med lab tech is like this, not every med lab tech is perfect. Techs who have been doing it for 20+ years miss.

I'd love to see someone post a video of unruly ignorant patients who treat us like crap and perhaps you wouldn't be as critical as this. It's not as "easy" as you think due to many variables, dehydration, small veins, moving etc. Try it before you criticize it.

[jaydedhart]

@jrsweeney21 Are you using a butterfly? Because it is PHYSICALLY impossible to fill your own tubes with one hand seeing how the tubes have to 'click' into place which means they are being punctured by the other end of the needle. If you are using a butterfly that's totally different. And as I said, sometimes fishing is impossible to avoid especially when you have patients who constantly MOVE around. Not only that, but the vein moves as well, it's not cemented in your arm.

[jrsweeney21]

I can fill my own tubes if I tape the needle to my arm after it is set in the vein. That is irrelivent though. I am just stating that I think a phlebotamist should be able to find their own veins before they go digging on a patient. When I was small I remember a phlebotamist putting 17 holes in my mother before she finally called a superior to help. The superior did it in 1 hole with 2 strokes. That's what I call fishing, after 3-4 strokes I just call that senceless digging.

[jrsweeney21]

I was talking about the phlebotamist practicing on oneself before fishing and fishing on a patient(digging). My understanding of taking blood exponentially increased after I learned to find my own veins as opposed to taking blood from a second party.

[atkins316]

Good lord, did they even use an antiseptic?

[jaydedhart]

Wow take your time to respond...2 months later. And I don't believe you! You cannot change tubes and hold the needle with one hand, it's impossible. If you used a butterfly, that's different...but you cannot do it with a regular needle. Fishing doesn't hurt if done properly and sometimes it's necessary because you don't want to repick.

[jrsweeney21]

I Have.