Triage - IV practice, no laughing matter

I missed my triage day because it was scheduled on a day off...but that didn't stop me from eventually getting in there one way or another.

I had a very slow last shift of labor/delivery. I was following a grouchy nurse who wasn't a big fan of students, so we spent the first half of the shift playing hide and go seek. I stocked her patient's room, helped the OB put in an internal fetal monitor and then she did the disappearing act. Rather than play the game with her (I've seen this with my classmates), I headed over to triage to see what Trude was up to. She was super busy. She promised me an IV stick at the first opportunity. so when she called me in on a difficult patient second triage in as many days due to dehydration. I gathered everything I needed to get it started, prepped the patient, found the scant trace of a vein and went in quickly. She screamed. I could hear my sister from another mother snickering in the hall. Ooops. Three RNs and 4 sticks later, the IV finally was started. The care nurse signed my stick sheet with the words "a very difficult stick." All I remember is Trude laughing.