[nursemary9]

Hi

CONGRATULATIONS :hatparty: to you for sticking to your guns!!
I'm so glad that there are still nurses out there who will do the right thing!!

Mary Ann

[CseMgr1]

Originally Posted by katlpn6

When she gives immunizations such as DTaP and say Hep B....she tapes the syringes together to give two injections at the same time. This makes it so two injections are given less than a 1/2 inch apart...clearly inappropriate landmarks.

Good God! Who taught her to do that??

Get yourself a lawyer, hun. Standards and Practice are clearly on your side...and not hers!

[rnmi2004]

Good for you for standing up for your patients! I'm glad you reported them. I'm sure you'll find a new job in an office that doesn't take dangerous shortcuts in no time!

[SmilingBluEyes]

i am scarcely able to believe what I am reading here. Good lord the scary practices out there continue to stun and frighten me. you were told right; report, report report this. The place is beyond dangerous.

[Spidey's mom]

Originally Posted by SmilingBluEyes

i am scarcely able to believe what I am reading here. Good lord the scary practices out there continue to stun and frighten me. you were told right; report, report report this. The place is beyond dangerous.

Poor little kiddos who got the shots. Always report unsafe practices.

steph

[nursemike]

I do kind of wonder about the needle length, though. As I recall, older or emaciated patients may have less subcutaneous tissue, so a 5/8 inch needle could be IM. What about small children? I know they often have more fat, but they're also physically smaller. Of course, there are some whopping big peds patients out there, too. I would think you would need a variety of sizes.

[Q.]

Originally Posted by Gompers

It does make sense to give two shots at the same time, but there's a much safer way to do it. Two nurses, one on each side, giving the shots in opposite limbs on the count of three is MUCH better. That's how we do it in the NICU when we have to give our little ones their slew of vaccinations. Just like when they pierce kids' ears - they do both at the same time.

I was just going to say that. We routinely gave shots together in the NICU, but never taped together.

[kids]

I have never seen anyone tape syringes together.
I did want to comment that in MANY circumstances a 5/8 needle is appropriate for giving IM injections to infants and small children.

[JOHNGA]

Katherine-

Your professional ethics are sound.
Perhaps it would have helped to show the orienting nurse a professional reference on correct techniques of pediatric IM injections. For instance, a book on clinical skills and procedures. Sometimes if you can articulate why a certain technique should not be performed, the other nurse can modify their administration technique appropriately.
FYI: the word 'clinician' has no 't' in it.

[ERNurse752]

Never heard of taping them together. We also do the two nurses, one for each injection, on opposite limbs.

"One, two, three...WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!"