Injections practice?

[NurseStudentHusband]

Hi,

my wife is a nursing student and wants to use me to practice injections for some exam. I told her NO WAY! I don't mind the cooking, cleaning, laundry and other stuff but she can't use me as a pin cushion. She needs to practice injections with subcutaneous and intramuscular, which a friend of mine says hurts. She claims it won't hurt that much but she can forget it. Plus she needs to inject it into my stomach! Has she lost her mind?

Anyway is there something else she can pratice on? She says they use pillows at school then during the exam they inject the professor (I take you have to be insane to be nursing profeesor). Can't she practice on herself? How about she uses the dog? Or some sort of dead animal? I'll gladly run over the neighbors cat or a squirrel or something. Or am I being a baby like she says? Can't you kill somebody if you screw it up? Why can't she use the million dollar robo paient they just bought, IStan? I thought that was the whole point of having it.

Anyway thanks. She is doing much better since she took some of your advice (studying in a group has helped a lot), straight A's. But she is really hard worker, so no surprise.

[greenbeanio]

My nursing instructor suggested eggplants. She said they are more like the human body than oranges which have a much thicker skin.

So I had my husband sit holding the eggplant against his deltoid so that I could get everything as close to "real" as possible, without the needle actually going in. Even so he was pale and shaky and said it felt like the "real thing"!

[gdsgrl]

I am a nursing student in Ohio, we can't practice on each other or our family. I am a Medical Assistant and I always gave injections without the Dr present, never had to be supervised in any office to give injections. But when I was learning we practiced on oranges at home, then we practiced on each other in class. When learning venipuncture we also practiced on other students who volunteered and even brought family members in to practice on the. That was back in 99, but no practice on each other in nursing school.

[Muttlover]

Wow, there is so much emotion involved in this topic. I don't want to dismiss the seriousness of it. But I believe a little humor goes along way. I also believe it's best to look on the bright side of things. It could have been worse. She's not asking for a volunteer so she can practice administering an enema.

(Sorry, I mean no disrespect to all of the posters above, just thought we all could use a little smile!)

[ange26s]

Where is everyone getting the supplies to practice on friends and family?If we took any supplies home and practiced, we were told we would be dismissed from the program.I can't believe that some programs let students stick each other.We had our check offs at school(used a sim man) and then did it at the hospital.Self-confidence and knowledge is all you need. My first IV I got it on the first stick because I believed I could do it. I have had compliments from several patients about my technique.My heart may be pumping fast, but I just go for it!

[Nursey103, ADN, RN]

We were given a bag of supplies.

[Eaglelady]

she can use an orange like we all did. a hot dog or some kind of firm sausage works well also. she is not learning her lessons and there is something wrong with her thinking processes if she is forgetting that injecting someone breaks the skin surface disrupting the person's protection against microbes and placing them at risk for infection each time of injection no matter how cautious she is. how does she feel about someone else injecting her? we were never allowed to inject another person, student or patient, unsupervised, until after we had graduated and gotten our license because it was illegal. even medical assistants can only inject people when a doctor is present in the office where they work under his supervision. i see you finally have your limits. i hope your comment about running over the neighbor's cat or a squirrel was meant to be humorous because if serious would make your thinking as questionable as your wife's. if your wife makes it through school i can't wait to hear the next installment in this saga. what are you going to do if she comes home with an n/g tube or foley catheter and wants to ram these into you for practice? i'd threaten to have her arrested for assault.

lololol funny but i am in my last part of my final semester and i do iv's , injections and all medications except iv push and hanging blood--but yes we are allowed to give injections and do iv's in the rn program at least here in florida anyways:nurse:

[SteveS743]

Just wait till she gets to Foley's! We practiced on oranges and each other, and yes we gave injections in school to real live patients. To wait until you've graduated to do such procedures is absurd! All too often I see nurses coming out of school with VERY limited clinical experience. I'd let her give me a shot. It's not a big deal if she follows aseptic technique, but make sure she's using real needles, not the cheap ones they give you in school!

[steve40]

Actually, If she is using "safe" and propper technique, it's not totally unheard of to practice on another human being. Of course, as with my training we generally did that type of thing using sterile water for the injection rather than any type of medication of course, and typically it was under the supervision of an instructor. I will say however, as a nurse I make a lousy patient and would be very reluctant to let someone practice on myself either.

[RJ---RN]

I would advise against you as the human pin cushion. The school has manniquins, you can use an orange as well. For the TB test, I taught my students to use hot dogs. It has a good feel like real skin and can actually make a "bleb"

You are a good husband. Good luck to you both!

[NeoNurseTX, RN]

Tell her to practice on patients...that is what they are there for.

This is what we all did! You don't have to tell them it's your first time!

[Eaglelady]

This is what we all did! You don't have to tell them it's your first time!

Exactly!!!!!!!

[ashnemsmom]

I graduate in May '09, YEAH!! Anyway, we only used mannequins and practiced technique. My first actual stick was on a patient. As long as she knows the technique and correct locations, she'll be fine.