May the Nurse's Force Be With You

[Joe V]

When a Nurse enters a hospital room carrying an injection, patients react in many different ways. Some pull the covers over their heads, many show immediate signs of relief, others start to whimper, and some have been known to prepare for a knock-down-drag-out confrontation. Hopefully, you have never had a patient become violently aggressive. What kind of reactions have you seen?

[Rn bsn msn]

Have had patients so scared of needles that they would vagal and pass out every time. Actually documented on telemetry. In at least one case the patient required an rn at bedside with atropine for a simple blood draw

[Animal House R.N., ADN, CNA, LVN]

I have had to chase my oldest daughter around the room and one year it took her father and I both to hold her down for her flu shot. My favorite memory though was I had this really tough looking rancher in and had to give him an Ancef shot. He was trying to insist that I give it in his arm and I refused and told him to "drop the pants, you don't have nothing I've never seen, sir." He dropped the pants and I gave the ancef shot. After that he promptly screamed out "My butts on fire" to which his wife began to giggle. I thought I was going to have to pick both of them up off the floor.

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

Once before I gave an injection a patient asked, "Is this going to hurt?"

I replied, "Well sometimes, while giving the injection, my arm cramps up a little, but other than that, I feel no pain. And thank you for your concern!"

My personal fave, "this isn't going to hurt me a bit".

Most patients got the humor and relaxed enough to let me stick 'em.

[jodispamodi]

I usually tell patients "I'm sorry, well not really, because if I were I wouldn't be giving the injection" Almost all are so surprised that they laugh and don't even realize the injection is all over.

[Joe V]

I admit I hate injections...

I can't even look at it next to me.

I don't even look at the nurse. I look away.

Then I walk out all smiling and happy .... it's over.

[audreysmagic, RN]

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I'm so putting that up in my cubicle. :-D

[No Stars In My Eyes]

Back in the mid 1970's I worked in a small hospital just outside a big city. I was the med nurse.We had a patient who was an FBI agent. I don't remember what he was there for, but he was in a lot of pain and the doc ordered him a pain injection. The poor man was SO afraid of needles he said would rather be in pain than have a shot. I talked him into taking it, but the poor man was actually was crying when he turned on his side for me to access the site. I gave him the shot licketty-split so he wouldn't change his mind. He was so astonished that he could barely feel anything, that he said it was almost a miracle, and that for the rest of his time he was to be a patient there, he wanted only me to give him any shots. Couldn't hardly work THAT out, but I thanked him for the complement.

I gestured with my hand, and said what I always say, being a little cocky in a funny way: "It's all in the wrist, sir, all in the wrist."

[aspasiarn]

I have had a child of patient cry hysterically upon seeing the needle. I mean she was 6 or 7 and you would havr thought I was holding a knife or gun. It was awful, poor girl.

[Farawyn]

I had a pregnant woman hit and kick me while getting a TDap, then tearfully hug me and thank me for taking care of her.

I love giving shots.

[No Stars In My Eyes]

I love giving shots, too!

I worked a flu shot clinic at a big box store

(and grrr, the RN I was working with did not even BOTHER to read anything about how we were to do the paperwork or any of that stuff. Had to take out 15 minutes at the beginning, and reminders throughout the clinic to explain and reiterate the What and How of it. She was just going to merrily give shots without taking down the data or look at insurance cards! But I digress . . .)

All 3 pharmacists and techs on duty in the pharmacy came out and stood in my line, saying "I was told to ask for you, because you give the better shot"

[midnightmadness]

Not my proudest thing to admit but In middle school it took 4 burley female nurses to give me my required school shots. One put me in her lap and held me down one held my arm one braced my other arm while the fourth did the injection. I remember calling them everything a 11 year old could think of including insulting their career choice. In nursing school it took me almost an entire lab to do the inject a pillow before i could handle the needle without shaking. Since then i stand by my opinion tis better to give than receive.

[Elfriede]

"Injektions doesn´t hurt at all. You just have to stand on the correct side of the needle / the syringe. Remember : Giving is more blessed than taking !"

And while my pt tries to understand what I´m talking about, the injektion is done. Painless.