Confused about recapping in the medroom

[giveface]

Something is confusing me that I need help with.

I would never recap a dirty needle, but I am confused about recapping a needle in the medication room during injection preparation. First of all, how else are you supposed to change from a filter needle to one that is a appropriate for the injection without recapping? When you hear "never, ever recap", is this referring to at the bedside once the injection is given? I have had a clinical instructor watch me recap in the medication room during preparation with the proper one hand technique in order to take a IM to the patient's room. I am obviously not going to walk down a hallway with a open needle unprotected? Yet at the same time my clinical instructor did this with me in the med room, another RN walked in and said that was improper as it could break sterility? I am totally confused. How else am I supposed to transport an injection to the bedside safely or change the needle on a luer-lok system?

Please help, I don't want to fail clinical over some stupid breech of policy (in the med room doing prep).

Thanks!

[anonymousstudent]

We are told to never recap a USED needle.

You're going to have to recap, there's no way around it. Sometimes you can't use a blunt fill or filter.

I would stick with exactly what your clinical instructor tells you to do and not worry about the other RN's on the floor unless you are under thier direct supervion at the time.

[ohmymistake]

I agree with the first responder. You should absolutely recap it in the med room because it is incorrect to carry an uncapped anywhere in the hospital

When you are holding the syringe, point the needle away from you and pick up the cap on the tip of the needle by inserting the needle into the hollow side of the cap. Take the syringe, keeping it horizontal to the ground and push the cap so it is secure back on the needle by pressing it against a surface like the edge of a counter or on a cabinet so your hand is not what is actually pressing the cap back onto the tip of the needle.

[giveface]

Ok thanks you two! I thought this was the case, but I looked up another thread on here about recapping and someone said, "I don't even recap clean needles." And I was like, whaaaaaaaaaaatt? I should stick with what I was taught, just didn't want to make a stupid mistake going into my final year of clinicals. Thanks all.

[notmanydaysoff]

have you used the "scoop" method?

[DayDreamin ER CRNP]

I agree with the others that you have to recap. I personally use the scoop method but it took me a few tries to get the hang of that.

Why was the other nurse worried about sterility? Aren't you prepping an IV injection for the most part anyway? The needle used to draw the medication isn't going into a patient, and you are wiping the vial with an alcohol wipe, right?

I guess I'm just trying to see the other nurse's rationale and what her solution to the problem would be. ??

meredith

[9livesRN, BSN, RN]

Also most of the times, you will find flat caps, if you are afraid to miss the scoop, you can put the flat end down, so the cap stands up just waiting for your needle!

[mom2rjns]

I was taught to always scoop, to never pick up a clean needle and recap that way. And also, never recap a DIRTY needle.

[diane227, LPN, RN]

You have to recap and there is nothing you can do about it. When it is a sterile needle I don't worry about getting stuck. I just change the needle out.

[giveface]

I think what it was simply was just that I had placed the cap on the counter instead of the inside of the sterile wrapper that the whole syringe and needle came in. So, when the RN saw me scoop up on the counter surface rather than the inside of the sterile packaging, she was mentioning that it was improper to scoop from a counter as the needle could inadvertently touch the counter surface. This is the only thing I can think of that she ment.

[nursein2012]

I'm hearing lately that using the "scoop method" is no longer recommended. The risks of contaminating the clean needle by touching it on a surface when "scooping" is a greater risk than a stick from a clean needle.

[2ndyearstudent, CNA]

I'm hearing lately that using the "scoop method" is no longer recommended. The risks of contaminating the clean needle by touching it on a surface when "scooping" is a greater risk than a stick from a clean needle.

They are still teaching the scoop method at my school, but I notice students are the only ones doing it.