Nursing students and new nurses.....about injection sites

[TazziRN]

I heard something today that just flabbergasted me......when I was in school back in the days of the horse and buggy, we had to name all IM injection sites and be able to demonstrate how to administer at each site. I can give VG and glute and VL meds blindfold and asleep. Today we had a medsurg nurse float to the ER. She's relatively new, graduated about a year and a half ago, I believe. She was asking us how to find the glute sites to give an IM to a pt, because in school she had only been taught deltoids. Huh???? Let me add that she went to a very reputable nursing school and she has proven to be an excellent nurse on the floor. All pts admitted to the floors who need anything more than PO meds get IVs and injectables are given IV. My tech said that she received Toradol and Compazine in the doctor's office the other day (same doc's MA who gave my baby the flu vax I talked about here) and the MA gave both to her in the deltoids. My eyes went wide....both meds can be caustic, as well as 2 mls each. Is this what's being taught now???

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

I also want to share that I went to an LPN school that did a poor teaching job with pharmacology, as well as nutrition. In fact, by the time I graduated, I was so poor in pharm that I had to take a one day seminar in order to prepare for NCLEX, only to still see drugs I had never heard of. I passed NCLEX-PN, thank goodness, but to date, I am embarassed about how little I knew and still know. I keep a drug book in tow at all times, and I know nothing about the common dosages. It is a shame and sin. Most days, now, nursing school teaches you to pass NCLEX, but does not give you the clinical skills that are necessary to be successful as a nurse. And, because older nurses received a better education, they are very impatient with us, thinking that we had been afforded the same level and intensity of education.

[lector]

as a nursing stud..that was like my 2nd year, we were taught to find all the landmarks of the sites and we did a return demonstration in front of a clinical instructor and of course with a student partner....we did all the injections.Its actually a requirement for us so that we would be able to enrol for the next sem and be able to do the capping and badging which here in the Phil. signifies a studnt to be in the clinical rotation in the 3rd-4rth year.That was tough hahaha.Intradermal was the one rated by me as the most painful..buit here in the Univ. that im in we are not actually taught how to do IV Insertion...we can just always do the assist your doctor or med intern and just observe.

[SN bbgrl]

I dont feel too left out then - i just finished 1st semester and the only injections i have given were 2 SC Lovenox. But i was so nervous trying to dothe procedure correctly, i totally forgot about leaving the needle in for 10 seconds!!! But i will defiinitiley remember for next time.

[caliotter3]

I do not remember much about this subject being taught in my program. Like most things in my nrsg school it was glossed over. I only remember having to do one injection during clinical, and that was only b/c my pt for the day needed one. I do however, remember, very distinctly, that my clinical instructor told me to steal needles and syringes to practice giving injections at home. She said that was what she did when she was in nrsg school. She acted as if I was stupid b/c I didn't figure out that I should steal the stuff myself. All I can say is I was not about to follow her instructions. Looking back on it, I should have reported her to the dean. But she probably would have denied telling me that. There was a lot of things that I had to look up in skills manuals or ask my co-workers about when I got on the job, b/c my clinical classes missed the boat as far as I am concerned. I have never felt that I got my money's worth from my tuition, even taking everything into consideration. Most of what I've learned has been learned on the job.

[NursingAgainstdaOdds]

I did many injections in clinical, both IM and SubQ. We had to be prepared to demonstrate finding the appropriate landmarks for any site when giving an IM injection.

[heymansgirl]

We also learned the IM injection sites, but we have only used the deltoid in clinical, and we were also told not to use the ventrogluteal site.

[SN bbgrl]

Really? You were instructed not to use the VG site? We were encouraged to use that site, and in fact, our book and our instructor told us that is the preferred im site - (the dorsogluteal however, is a different story because of the possibility of striking the sciatic nerve). We were shown all the sites and landmarks for IM, and SC. Also, from my understanding you should not use the deltoid site for injections containing > 1 mL. Well, im glad i can remember all this when im typing - i hope i remember in clinicals too!!! :smackingf

[shauntaebrit]

I am being taught pharm and sites as well what college she comes from and where does she works?

[CarrieH]

I also want to share that I went to an LPN school that did a poor teaching job with pharmacology, as well as nutrition. In fact, by the time I graduated, I was so poor in pharm that I had to take a one day seminar in order to prepare for NCLEX, only to still see drugs I had never heard of. I passed NCLEX-PN, thank goodness, but to date, I am embarassed about how little I knew and still know. I keep a drug book in tow at all times, and I know nothing about the common dosages. It is a shame and sin. Most days, now, nursing school teaches you to pass NCLEX, but does not give you the clinical skills that are necessary to be successful as a nurse. And, because older nurses received a better education, they are very impatient with us, thinking that we had been afforded the same level and intensity of education.

Just remember that there are new drugs coming out every day. It's impossible to learn everything about all of them. I'm forever walking into our sample closet saying to myself "Where did THAT come from?" That's what the PDR is for.

You'll find that most doctors have their own "set" of drugs that they like to use. Eventually you memorize the ones that are used the most often in your area, then learning the new ones isn't so overwhelming.

[As17141]

What are the sites you can give an antibiotic injection?.plz help..

[wooh, BSN, RN]

Sites? Hospital, home, physician's office, urgent care center. Really, if you have the supplies, you could give antibiotics in a field of wildflowers.

[As17141]

lol.. no what im saying is.. where like i had a question on my nclex and it had the detoid buttocks.. thigh.. whats the best site? to give an antibiotic injection?.