Learning Injections on EACH OTHER

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Hello group,

I am looking at our timetable and shortly we are learning

and practicing injections on one another. I am really nervous about

this for several reasons and I'm sure other people have probably been

through this so it would be good to hear some past experiences.

We are divided into groups of 8 and have a clinical tutor for each

group. We are supposed to practice intramuscular and subcutaneous

injections on partners, specifically it says in the detloid,

dorsogluteal & ventrogluteal regions. I am nervous for a couple of

main reasons - I really hate injections and can't imagine actually

jabbing one of my friends. I am also nervous about the exposure

required to pracice some of these (esp. dorsogluteal) - how much

exposure is necessary?

Anyway I will probably learn a lot but it seems pretty scary...

--Karen

Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

When I was in nursing school in the mid-1990s, we did both IM's and SQ's on each other after practicing on oranges and then dummies. Nobody thought much about it, and those who were squeamish were allowed to check off this skill by doing an injection on one of the instructors! (Needless to say, most of us were only too happy to practice on each other.)

IVs were another story, however. We were given 14 gauge needles and practiced on this rubber arm with "veins" that stuck up about half an inch above the surface, which was less than helpful when we got into the real world and were confronted with little, spindly, dehydrated 90-year-old veins. We also were not allowed to start IVs in clinicals, so we all graduated and took our boards without having done a single IV on a live person. I don't know about my classmates, but I had absolutely NO confidence in my IV skills until the past couple of years, and it wasn't until about 6 months ago that I could consider myself proficient. Now I'm one of the go-to people when there's a hard start on the floor.....but it took me a lot of starts to get to that point, and I think I'd have gotten better a lot sooner if I'd had practical experience while I was in school. But that's JMHO.

Originally posted by mjlrn97

IVs were another story, however. We were given 14 gauge needles and practiced on this rubber arm with "veins" that stuck up about half an inch above the surface, which was less than helpful when we got into the real world and were confronted with little, spindly, dehydrated 90-year-old veins. .

Not allowing you to do IVs in clinicals was a disservice to you and to the patients that you later had to learn on on your own.

Paracticing on a healthy nursing student is not helpful in learing to stick those with old spindly dehydrated veins either.

The student veins were unlike most we have to stick. (too healthy)

I'm curious. What exactly is in the syringes ? When we were learning (in lab) how to do IM, SQ, ID, injections, we drew up water into the syringe and used it to inject a sponge-like ball.

We drew up NS and injected it.

Originally posted by passing thru

Nurse2b :

I like the way you expess yourself. Right to the point and totally

pr actical, good old common sense.

I agree 100%.

Thanks :) I was afraid I would get plenty of unagreeable customers ;)

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