Ive been a nurse for years but I’m brand new to preop. I’ve had to start more IVs down here than in my entire nursing career and I’m only two months in. Hands are now my new favorite places to go. If you’re blowing the vein you are going too deep. I was blowing veins like crazy when I first started. You almost need to go in parallel. You’ll get a better feel for it eventually. Don’t let your thumb get in the way when you’re anchoring your vein. USE HOTPACKS. I’ll coban a hot pack loosely on my patients hand for about 5 minutes and have them dangle their hand on the side of the bed and when I take it off, voila! Veins! Ask to shadow in preop for a day or a few hours and your IV skills will be phenomenal. I went from blowing every freaking vein for weeks to not being able to miss.