A Nurse's Guide to Intravenous Insertion: Techniques, Tips, and the History of IV Therapy

Start IVs with confidence, and finally understand why we do it the way we do.

Written by a working nurse who has started thousands of IVs (Cody Kaufman, MSN, RN, CAPA, 2023 DAISY Award honoree), this 300-page guide covers peripheral IV insertion from your first stick to the hardest veins on the unit, then tells the remarkable story of how IV therapy became a cornerstone of modern medicine.

Part I: The technique

Step-by-step IV starts with photographed grips for the hand, forearm and antecubital fossa Difficult IV access: fragile, rolling and dehydrated veins, older and obese patients, and anxious or needle-phobic patients Vein anatomy, catheter gauge selection and how to avoid valves Complications: infiltration, extravasation and phlebitis, and how to prevent them Key takeaways at the end of every chapter for quick review on shift Part II: The history of IV therapy

Why do we use saline? Why a tourniquet? From the cholera wards of the 1830s and Thomas Latta's first saline infusions to early blood transfusions and the Murphy drip, Part II explains the why behind the equipment and practices you use every day, history most nursing programs never teach.

Written for

RNs, LPNs/LVNs, nursing students, new graduate nurses, paramedics and EMTs, PAs, medical students, CRNAs, and radiology and MRI technologists who start IVs.