What's the difference between these nurses?

imastudent · Apr 9, 2005

I think you'll find that once you do it the first time, it really isn't a big deal. You'll be poking people for lots of reasons, starting IVs, drawing blood, giving injections... you can't really avoid it. But I will promise you that it seems like a much bigger issue than it really is. I've given gallons of drugs over the years, it's not a biggie. And once you are good at it you'll find it isn't the needle that hurts in an injection, it's the drug.
The biggest challenge is talking the patient into it then getting them to roll over and drop their drawers to fanny up for the procedure. Talking them into it generally takes longer that giving the darn thing. :chuckle
Whether you are giving an injection with the patient sunnyside up or in an arm, leg, etc... you aim for specific sections to avoid certain major nerves, etc. Picture this, if you are giving an injection in a hip you would stand behind the person (assuming they are standing). You visually (don't really do this, just picture it... patients will think you are weird otherwise!) put your right thumb on the top of the crack of their butt and pinky on the side hip bone. Where your other three fingertips are, that is where the needle typically goes.
Is any of this answering your questions?

yes :chuckle this board has been VERY helpful

i heard that nurses first practice their injection skills on dolls. is this true? was your first human injection a patient?

JessicaInOr · Apr 9, 2005

yes :chuckle this board has been VERY helpful
i heard that nurses first practice their injection skills on dolls. is this true? was your first human injection a patient?

No, mine was a fellow student. Lucky girl she was! HA

We practiced most everything on each other. Starting IVs, injections, venipuncture, bed baths, the works. That part of school wasn't fun.

A person I worked with years ago did an ER rotation where she had a drug abuser patient. She had to draw blood on the guy and she kept trying and just couldn't find a vein. Finally he offered to help. :chuckle I don't believe she took him up on that offer but she did admit to letting him show her a better place to look for a vein.

Nurse Ratched, RN · Apr 9, 2005

The procedure-type things seem like a huge deal when you're in school, but that's nowhere near the essence of nursing. A monkey can be trained to insert a catheter, I'm sure. It's important, but it's the rationale behind sterile technique and what you know about the patient based on their output, amount, appearance of the urine that makes up the nursing part of this example.

I would encourage you to worry a lot less about whether or not you're going to have to give injections (you will.) First you'll have to learn anatomy so you know what your instructor is talking about when she wants you to avoid the sciatic nerve. And you'll have to take pharmacology so you know what you're shooting into the patient, not to mention classes that will talk about the disease process you're treating with the injection.

My point is, chill out :). Everything will happen in the order it's supposed to as you progress through school. Each school is going to be a little different. I never went near an ER in school. I had one day observing a surgery (which consisted of the nurse advising me that I should not touch anything blue (sterile stuff) and if I should happen to pass out, I should endeavor to avoid falling into her table of blue stuff. Lots of schools use nursing homes for clinical sites. Probably you'll have a certain amount of choice in location (depending on whether you're in a rural area or a place that has access to more facilities.) None of us knows what your exact experience will be like, so enjoy it for what it is, study hard, pass your boards, and then get into the REAL learning :). Trust me, once you're out of school, you'll be amazed at the stuff you'll be worried about that isn't even on your radar right now.