A confidential web-based survey was distributed to a total of 367 third and fourth year students at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. The responses were collected over a 2-wk period in July 2015.
The response rate was 49.0% (180/367); 65.5% of the M3s and 21.8% of the M4s have never had an opportunity to place an IV. The success rate was higher in students with prior experience as laboratory researchers (86.6%, P = 0.014) as well as emergency medical technicians (81.4%, P = 0.038) when compared to students with no experience. Prior preparation such as reading, watching videos, or even lectures did not increase the success rate. Success rates rapidly improved from 47% for the first attempt to 86% for the fifth attempt.
A significant percentage of students did not have opportunities to attempt IV catheter placement. We found prior experience, not only as an emergency medical technician but also as a laboratory researcher, significantly increased the success rate. Prior preparations did not improve success rate, and most of the students were successful after only five attempts.