Ped immunization

[erwigg]

so first off new to peds and being trained but one question I have that isn't being answered in a way I am understanding.

When giving a lot of immuz is to put into the anteior part of the thigh where there is the most muscle.The angle, placement of needle I understand- what I am havingdiffculty getting is the postion between myself and the child.

in this clinic I am suppose to have the child at the end of the exam table to the point the knees bend over the edge, so that my legs press against theirs to the exam table. this is while the parent holds the upper body. The child is squirming and kick or trying to. of course the reasoning of this postioning is to control all this movement during the injection.

before I took this postion I heard of people sticking themselves in this postion or getting hurt by the kicking. the people I know personally: one hurt their back somehow, another bruised leg and the third was a male MA who was kicked in the groin.

after taking this postion I am told that noone has gotten hurt using this position. so confused there.

the idea I had that seemed to work was to have the parent hold the upper body while I held the legs with one hand, while using the needle with theother hand. sitting here writting that it does look/sound more akward but it Is smoother then the wording just used. I do have the strength to pull this off

so there is a gap in understanding here or maybe a better way then either of the ways mentioned. I diffently want to do this in way where no one gets hurt and get it figured out very quickly. if something in all this rambling isn't clear ask- today was bit of a long one and my mind is spinning

[nursel56]

The way we did it when working in immunizations was a variation of the legs bent down over table edge they suggested. Our exam table was against a wall on one side. We laid the child down on their back, a parent or helper nurse held the arms and upper body, the nurse giving the injection uses her body weight to lean against the child's legs (similar to the idea of the nurse's using her legs against the child's ) and has two free hands to give the injection. If you try to give the injection with one hand and she breaks free or moves you will need the other to stabilize the injection site.

It's hard to imagine keeping a kicking child's legs still with one hand! The little people are surprisingly strong while in full-on freakout mode! Infants are obviously the easiest, and can't object due to their age, you just have to get used to their sad little faces when the needle goes in. :-( They quickly forget it, and are back to grabbing your hair and drooling on you in no time!:) Best of luck in your new peds job!

[tewdles, RN]

You need to find the best way for YOU to do this...

The important thing is to give the correct vaccine, correct dose, into the correct muscle, using correct technique. SAFELY for all involved. How you accomplish that is really your personal professional domain.

I used a variety of positions when I spent YEARS working with children. Sometimes I just had the parent hold the child on their lap. Sometimes I needed another staff member. Sometimes I used the end of the table technique you described.

Good luck!