One of the pre-reqs I'm plodding through is Psych101, and my mind got to wandering as we dealt with Learning & Conditioning today.
Prior to deciding on this change of life-path, I Hated needles. Gritted my teeth and refused to look when blood was drawn. But now that I know it's going to be part of the job, I've started watching. It Is So Cool!
My question is: Has your attitude to being stuck and/or having blood drawn from you changed from the time to before you entered Nursing to today? Or do you still despise it when it's being done to you? Or did it never bother you in the first place?
Enquiring students want to know. And since I'm a freshman, I can also be lied to by any poser that comes along .
Does not bother me to see it or do it. I do not watch when I'm the recipient, though. MUCH better to give than receive. I've never liked it and never will, no matter how many times I go to the doctor or donate blood, or whatever. Nope, nope, nope.
Shots don't bother me, but anything to do with my veins (or lack thereof) makes me want to throw up! I'm convinced my blood circulates in my body by osmosis because even with ultrasound all they can find are some weird torturous winding things that vaguely resemble veins
I can do needles all day long, but do not ever want to spend another night in a hospital bed! 2 years ago I ended up staying 9 days in the hospital and I was never so glad to see my own bed than after that! And I could turn myself when I got uncomfortable. It has given me a whole renewed sympathy for people who have to spend long term amounts of time in hospitals.
It never really bothered me to have lab draws or IV started on me. When I went to the ER earlier this year, I let the student nurses go to town on me. They loved it! They gave me a he** of a bruise on my hand, but no harm done. :)
I was rather phobic about needles before I went to nursing school. I would shake and nearly pass out if I had to have an injection.
The way I got over it was by progressive desensitization. I spent HOURS in the skills lab, probably more than my peers, learning about needles and trying to overcome my fear. At first I would become anxious if I just held a needle but, despite my fear, I continued to handle needles until I became comfortable with them. The students at my program had to give each other subq and IM injections as a test out before we were permitted to give injections to patients. I had a hard time sleeping the night before we did that and I even considered dropping out of the program right then and there! But I did it. I was so relieved and excited when the IM was over (the site was gluteus medias) that I nearly jumped off the table and exposed EVERYTHING to my fellow students. :imbar :imbar
It was a little easier to give injections as a student but still hard to receive them. After I became pregnant with my first child and had to go through all the prenatal blood work, it wasn't such a big deal to me anymore. I've also had a couple of surgeries and getting an injection or IV start doesn't make me anxious. I don't always watch but sometimes I do, especially during blood draws, and I think I may freak out the poor technician because I usually say something to crack him/her up.
My one son is extremely phobic as well but is wisely choosing not to go into a health care profession. I've spoken to him about desensitization but he doesn't want to try it.
Usually I am very understanding if someone is phobic but one student completely tried my patience. She was scared to death to receive an injection from a fellow student, yet she had multiple piercings in rather sensitive places and several large tattoos. Sorry, I don't have much sympathy for someone who claims to be scared of needles and yet has lots and lots and lots of body art and jewelry.
Specializes in Accident and Emergency, Tutor & Assessor.
Not sticks related, but related all the same. I had a phobia about lifts prior to nursing school. I couldn't go in one, chose stairs every time but once I realised that I would have to transfer patients around in lifts would be involved and just got over it. Seems we aren't always as phobic as we think we are!
I always try to get the patient to laugh if I can -- saying "uh-oh, get the garlic, here comes the vampires" when lab comes around, etc. I had one guy, very stuffy, very reserved, gave him an IM, and he says, "I hope you don't mind that I closed my eyes." I said without even blinking, "That's okay, I close mine, too." Then had to do a rapid explanation that I keep my eyes closed while GETTING, not giving a shot...
Specializes in General adult inpatient psychiatry.
Now that I think I know how to do sticks, it aggravates me when I'm stuck 6 times by someone trying to get my blood. Yesterday, I was stuck 3 times in attempts to get blood from the same vein with no success by a lab tech. The RN had no problem. I have a problem now with techs getting my blood because I think nurses do it better and know more about what they're doing. Just my $0.02. Oh and interesting fact, the men who have drawn my blood have always gotten blood on the first stick. I don't have any trouble with needles, I have trouble now with being poked and prodded and told "you have AWFUL veins".
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Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP
4 Articles; 5,259 Posts
Does not bother me to see it or do it. I do not watch when I'm the recipient, though. MUCH better to give than receive. I've never liked it and never will, no matter how many times I go to the doctor or donate blood, or whatever. Nope, nope, nope.