[katlpn6]

Originally Posted by kids-r-fun

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.

As I said in my orriginal thread, this practice had children ranging in age from birth to 18 years old. I agree with you that in some instances a 5/8 inch needle is appropriate, that's what nursing judgement is for. My point was that they did not have any 1" needles at all in the office therefore making it immpossible to give an IM injection to an older pt with more adepose tissue. The nurses there had no problems at all with the way they were doing things, that was the scary part.

[suebird3]

Hey, Kat....gompers had a point about 2 nurses, different sites. Did that in one of our Community Clinicals. Talk to ya soon

Sue

[Audreyfay]

It makes me petrified to think of myself or loved one going into the hospital, and not knowing. I figured that if they went into the hospital, I'd probably be the big bad family member that insists on providing all the care and being there all the time. When I worked in Hawaii, many of the Hawaiian families had at least one member with the patient around the clock.

Some people just don't get it, do they? Good for you for sticking up for yourself. The license you had to lose could have been your own.

[pediCNS]

Originally Posted by nursemike?

Okay, so I've been sitting here for a while, trying to figure out what kind of utter moron thinks it's faster to tape two syringes together than simply to give two injections. Then it finally dawned on me--peds. They only want to stick the kid one time. I'm not saying it's even remotely right, but at least it makes some semblance of sense.

Anyway, congratulations on "not fitting in" with their way of doing things. That's the great thing about life--there are a million ways to do it wrong, but usually far fewer to do it right.

First of all, I would like to think that you do not consider pediatric nurses utter morons. Taping syringes together has never been an accepted practice in any practice area that I have been in in my 25 years of pediatrics. Certainly one wants to traumatize a child as little as possible, but if you give the injections one right after the other (in separate sites), the child's reaction is no different than with one injection. Certainly using two sites and giving the injections a few minutes apart would be more traumatizing. I have given thousands of injections and have been told I am quite good at it, even when having to give multiple injections.

The original writer should report the practice to the state regulating bodies as soon as possible. It sounds to me like the nurses in the practice are the ones who are not willing to change.

Also, try and give peds another shot (pardon the pun ) if the opportunity arises. Not all pediatric nurses are like the ones you encountered in that office.

[ibnrn]

I had to read the post a couple of times before I understood it. Taping 2 syringes together??? Talk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater...If one is THAT concerned about sticking the kid twice, how about using EMLA Cream? (Oh, I almost forgot...that costs $$ and that's what it's all about these days!)
Congrats for standing up and doing the right thing when it was difficult. Don't let it erode your self confidence...YOU are in the right here and still a good clinician!

[pediCNS]

Originally Posted by ibnrn

I had to read the post a couple of times before I understood it. Taping 2 syringes together??? Talk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater...If one is THAT concerned about sticking the kid twice, how about using EMLA Cream? (Oh, I almost forgot...that costs $$ and that's what it's all about these days!)
Congrats for standing up and doing the right thing when it was difficult. Don't let it erode your self confidence...YOU are in the right here and still a good clinician!

Also, now that EMLA can be purchased OTC, you know it isn't going to be paid for. One of the concerns I have with EMLA is that for it to be truly effective, it must be on for at least one hour--though depending on the practice, this might not be a problem

[kleelpn]

Originally Posted by katlpn6

As I said in my orriginal thread, this practice had children ranging in age from birth to 18 years old. I agree with you that in some instances a 5/8 inch needle is appropriate, that's what nursing judgement is for. My point was that they did not have any 1" needles at all in the office therefore making it immpossible to give an IM injection to an older pt with more adepose tissue. The nurses there had no problems at all with the way they were doing things, that was the scary part.

Kat, I've read through this thread, and as one very experienced LPN to another, I say, God Bless and Love You. You know your stuff, in theory and in practice and you opened your mouth as a Patient Advocate, which I consider to be the highest part of our calling as nurses. It is never easy to "do the right thing" in an atmosphere of "that's how we do it here"...
So, to paraphrase a great man... "kick the dust off your sandals and move on to the next village", because there IS a place for you where you will be cherished for your integrity... your job is simply to "seek until you find" it.
Sincerely, klee

[nursemike]

Originally Posted by pediCNS

First of all, I would like to think that you do not consider pediatric nurses utter morons. Taping syringes together has never been an accepted practice in any practice area that I have been in in my 25 years of pediatrics. Certainly one wants to traumatize a child as little as possible, but if you give the injections one right after the other (in separate sites), the child's reaction is no different than with one injection. Certainly using two sites and giving the injections a few minutes apart would be more traumatizing. I have given thousands of injections and have been told I am quite good at it, even when having to give multiple injections.


The original writer should report the practice to the state regulating bodies as soon as possible. It sounds to me like the nurses in the practice are the ones who are not willing to change.

Also, try and give peds another shot (pardon the pun ) if the opportunity arises. Not all pediatric nurses are like the ones you encountered in that office.

Sorry if it sounded that way. I only meant that it seemed like a pretty dumb way to save time, until I realized that wasn't the point.

[jeepgirl]

how the heck did this nurse aspirate for her IM injection with this technique?
Like others said before, use two sites and use EMLA... for IM I usually place it longer than one hour.
Oh, and why didn't she just get another nurse to do a second injection at the same time as the other one... so the kid gets two sticks at the same time at two different sites. less traumatizing.

[camay1221_RN]

Katherine,

I almost fell over when I read your post about the two syringes being taped together!!! And someone asked the question that came to mind...How do you aspirate?

I worked in a pediatric clinic for five years, and I think anyone who would even think of giving immunizations the way you described should be the one without a job, and back into a continuing education program for skills development!

Good luck to you! There is another pediatric clinic out there just waiting to get their hands on you!