Inserting an IV in the Dark

There are a lot of skills needed in the everyday life of a nurse. Some are very practical and measurable. Others aren’t really seen on paper, but highly important nonetheless. One of the more practical skills is the ability to insert an IV. In nursing school, the successful insertion of your first IV is a really big deal. There are announcements to other students, pats on the back, and the eating of lots of ice cream with no guilt. When you get to the working world, you try to become one of those nurses who are known as being "good at IVs." People ask you for help when their patients need an IV, other units call you over to insert them, and I must admit…it’s a pretty good feeling to have a successful IV insertion especially if the patient is a hard stick, or other people have tried and for whatever reason didn’t get it in. This feeling gets even better when you’re successful with a difficult area of the body like a foot, or you get an IV on a kid, not to mention a kid’s foot (let me brag for just a second…I have gotten an IV in on a kid’s foot one time, and it was an amazing day).
Well a lot of things that I have felt completely competent with in the states scare me slightly now that I live in Africa…including inserting an IV in a patient. The other day I made a house call to a patient who needed an IV. It was getting close to dark, and when I walked into her mud house/room, I couldn’t see anything. A couple people had some flashlights and started pointing them at the patient’s arm. It was no bright fluorescent lighting of a hospital, but I had to work with what I got. I get everything set up. Meanwhile a family member is tying a rope to the ceiling so we have something to hang the fluid from. I get the needle in her arm with the help of a flashlight, but her vein "rolled" a little (common problem) so I had to work a little to get the catheter in the vein. Well apparently I wasn’t going fast enough in my search for a vein, because the patient’s dad reached over my shoulder and began pointing out where the vein was. I guess he thought I couldn’t see it.
My problem wasn’t seeing the vein, but making it stay still so I could get the catheter inserted. I do not have the Arabic skills to explain that to dad, so I bite my lip and try to be patient as dad reaches over me and points the vein out multiple times. And let me just say, it’s a big step for me to be patient and not say anything. Well after a little work I finally get the IV inserted properly and with the help of friends, family members, and flashlights, I get the IV taped down to the patient’s arm. Needlessly to say I was pumped that this actually worked.