Pediatric Immun. question

[newflgrad]

Ok I would like the scoop and here from other nurses on this topic because I have gotten different answers.

When I worked as a medical assistant in a pediatric office for 7 yrs I was trained by the doctor to give the immunizations. I would draw them up and give them. Well I worked with 4 different doctors and one NP. I just finished LPN school and had this disscusion with my instructor and both of them had different answers for this question. Here it is............Do you have to aspirate on an IM immunization for a pediatric patient? The 4 different doctors I trained with never did and did not train me to. They were in and they were out! I am assuming because of the kid screaming and squirming thing. I had one instructor tell me on Immunizations you DO NOT have to because she looked it up and read it, and one instructor yell at me after that for giving a flu shot with out aspirating. LOL I did at least 20-30 kids a day over a 7 yr period. Please everyone give me your thoughts or run ins on this, I would be interested in hearing everyone's! Thank you!

[newflgrad]

Well that being said, and this is just a wild thought to throw out to us educated nurses, why if something is so critical to a patients health, never taught to the doctors in med school? And with that also being said, how come there are not more doctors hurting the patients by not aspirateing? One must think, it might not be as critical as we think? Just a thought and I am sure lots of you will disagree with it. But where is the evidence that a doctor has hurt a pt by giving an IM with out aspirating first?