01 / CONFIDENCE
"I keep calling the charge nurse."
New grads describe months of blown sticks and asking for help. Volume alone doesn't fix it. A system does.
Assess. Anchor. Advance.
New · Free IV simulator →
★★★★★ 4.9 on Amazon
Get the IVon the first stick.
The field guide working nurses keep in their locker. Real grips, real veins, real troubleshooting, written by an MSN, RN, CAPA nurse with thousands of sticks behind him.
Paperback & Kindle300 pagesStudent to veteran
"A must for all healthcare staff" Jess
"The section on elderly patients was a game‑changer" J.G. Franco
"Most medical texts can be ponderous. This is not." NoMo
"RN must have resource" Sharon Goodwin
"Going to keep it at work so others can reference it" Zach
"Staff reported improved success with insertions" Practice administrator
Why IVs feel hard
School gave you a rubber arm. A nursing shift gives you real veins on real patients.
Ask nursing students and new nurses what makes IVs hard and you hear the same three things. This book was written to fix them.
02 / VISUALS
"I can't picture the technique."
The #1 complaint about the category leader: almost no photos. You can't learn a grip from a paragraph.
20+ photographed grips.
03 / HARD STICKS
"Where do I even look?"
Dialysis arms, chemo veins, dehydrated elders, anxious patients. Readers want the playbook for the sticks nobody else gets.
Skill plus judgment.
Inside the book
Everything between the tourniquet and the flush.
Part I is technique. Part II is the strange, brilliant history of how we got here. Every chapter ends with key takeaways you can use on your next shift.
Stabilize the vein and the rest gets easy.
C grip, L grip, crusher grip, C‑clamp, inverted C. Hand, forearm and AC techniques, each one photographed step by step.
Preview the grip library →
Valves, rollers & no flashback
Why the "easy" hand vein fails, what a sluggish flash is telling you, and how to recover a stick in progress.
Elderly, obese & fragile veins
Readers call the older‑patient chapter a game‑changer for thin skin and delicate vessels.
Anatomy & catheter selection
Pick the right vein and the right gauge before the needle ever touches skin.
Less pain, less anxiety
Techniques to minimize discomfort and calm the patient whose veins vanish when you walk in.
1832
Cholera, saline, and the gnarly experiments that made IV therapy what it is. Nursing school skips this. You won't.
Interactive · 30 seconds
Before you stick, score it.
The A‑DIVA scale predicts how likely a first attempt is to fail. Answer five questions about your next patient. The best IV nurses assess first, then act.
Based on the A‑DIVA scale, van Loon et al., Medicine 2016. Educational tool only. Follow your facility's protocol.
Is the target vein not palpable?
Is the target vein not visible?
History of difficult IV access?
Is this an acute, unplanned situation?
Is the vein diameter 2 mm or less?
0/5Answer to see your risk
Each "yes" adds one point. Two or three red flags? Escalate early.
New · Free practice game
Start a patient →
Practice the stick before the shift.
An IV start simulator built from the book. Tourniquet, CHG scrub, anchor, insert, stop at the flash, lower your angle, thread, flush. Three patients, from easy veins to a needle‑phobic patient with a tremor.
- A live depth view shows exactly where your needle tip is
- Graded like a skills check‑off, with a tip for every miss
- Free, no sign‑up. Best on a computer, works on a phone
Play the IV simulatorAbout 3 minutes per patient
Free preview · Grip library
See it. Then do it.
Every grip from the book, photographed. Here are a few to start. Get the free Field Kit to unlock the full library.
Book two · The other half of the job
Twelve hours. One thing you control.
Technique gets the line in. Mindset gets you through the shift. A Nurse's Guide to Stoicism turns Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca into short, usable tools for burnout, moral distress and the 3 a.m. spiral.
"Short mindset tips easy to use during a busy shift. Didn't feel preachy."
Zach, verified reader
53%of nurses reported burnout in the past two years. Source: Nurse.com 2026 Nurse Salary & Work‑Life Report.
Verified Amazon reviews
91% five‑star. Rated higher than every other IV insertion book in Amazon's "also viewed" set.
Nurses don't hand out five stars lightly.
★★★★★
"Easy‑to‑follow instructions and tips make the process feel less intimidating."
★★★★★
"Each chapter is summarized with key takeaways."
★★★★★
"My NP and PA staff reported improved success with insertions."
★★★★★
"Useful tricks for dilation I can implement in my IV practice."
★★★★★
"Explains not only the how but also the why behind each technique."
★★★★★
"The historical part was a surprising bonus."
The author
Hi, I'm Cody.
MSNRNCAPADAISY Award 2023
I've placed thousands of IVs. I still miss sometimes, and I write about those misses too. Tiger Woods missed putts. Michael Jordan missed shots. Missing an IV doesn't make you a bad nurse. It's how we learn, as long as we learn from it. These books are everything I wish someone had handed me as a new nurse.
"The best IV nurses assess first, anticipate difficulty, and act strategically."
Field notes
Lessons from the bedside.
Short, evidence-based reads on technique, complications, patient care and the mindset that gets you through the day.
Free · The IV Field Kit
Steal the extras that didn't fit in the book.
- The complete photographed grip library: hand, forearm, AC
- Phlebitis risk tables: osmolality of common drugs & solutions
- Pocket A‑DIVA card for your badge reel
- New field notes before they go public
FAQ
Questions nurses ask.
What is the best book for learning IV insertion?
A Nurse's Guide to Intravenous Insertion is a 300‑page, 4.9‑star guide by Cody Kaufman, MSN, RN, CAPA. It covers vein anatomy, catheter selection, grips and stabilization, difficult and fragile veins, troubleshooting, and the history of IV therapy, for students through experienced clinicians.
How do I get better at starting IVs as a new grad nurse?
Get volume, assess before you stick, and master stabilization. Use a tourniquet every time, anchor the vein with a deliberate grip, choose a catheter smaller than the vessel, and reflect on every miss. Pattern recognition comes from repetition plus structured assessment.
How do you start an IV on difficult veins?
Assess first with a tool like the A‑DIVA scale. Warm the limb, let the arm hang dependent, apply a proper tourniquet, palpate instead of relying on sight, consider a smaller gauge, and escalate early to ultrasound or a more experienced clinician when red flags stack up.
Why didn't I get a flashback?
Common causes: no tourniquet, low blood pressure, a distal site like the hand where flow is slower, a very small vein, or the catheter against or through the vein wall. A tourniquet restores venous pressure and usually speeds up the flash.
Is the book useful for paramedics, EMTs and students?
Yes. It's written for RNs, LPNs/LVNs, nursing and medical students, EMTs, paramedics, PAs, CRNAs and imaging techs who place peripheral IVs.
Can Stoicism actually help with nursing burnout?
Stoic practices like separating what you control from what you don't, rehearsing hard moments in advance, and short end‑of‑shift reflection give nurses practical tools for stress. A Nurse's Guide to Stoicism applies them to real shifts. It complements, not replaces, professional mental health support.