Pediatric immunizations

[Julia Newton]

 Part of my job is immunizations - and part of that, is giving shots to pediatric patients. I have discovered that I am not well with anyone younger than 6 with shots because they fight me. I am so uncomfortable, and the longer the training goes, the more I panic and am losing sleep over it. I think I go into freeze mode during this. No part of me wants to hold a baby down and give them shots. I guess everyone has a specialty they really do not like. well I found mine. My job is mostly triage, but I am expected to fill in on immunizations as needed. I plan on talking to my manager on how distressing this is. I have never been one to say no I am not comfortable with this in any job. So this is a first. I don't know if they'll still want me to work for them. Overall, this has been really stressful. I just know a baby screaming, holding down a little, needles and I do not mix. 
 

I feel like I'm asking a lot, but I never worked in peds so I didn't know I had this reaction to it. so I am looking for at different jobs at the moment. Any advice?

[JKL33]

I understand your distress. I have a few comments to give in the spirit of helpfulness, not in attempt to negate your feelings.

First, I hope you have help/assistance, when appropriate, while giving immunizations. A child not properly secured makes this way worse for everyone, including the child. If a parent/caregiver cannot help secure the child then someone to assist them is needed; all the more while you're learning the ropes and the tricks/tips with giving immunizations.

Next, when we have to do less-pleasant aspects of our job or something that is distressing to the patient, it can be normal/natural, especially at first, to think of these things in negative terms. This is not good for our emotional health and could likely affect our approach as well. In this case, are we "holding them down?" Well, yes, in a manner of speaking. But "holding down" or someone being held down, is also language that can be use to describe despicable acts of abuse. Instead, I tend to think it is more helpful to think of this portion of immunizations as comfortably securing a child so that they may safely receive a very positive/therapeutic portion of care. This can be done using "comfort hold" positions - if you search web images using those terms you can get good ideas if you aren't already aware of them. I believe there is research suggesting that upright positions in older infants and children is more soothing and causes less distress then being secured in supine positions. There is a lot you can learn about this whole topic if you do a few searches.

Next, does the fact that it is positive and therapeutic mean they are going to like it? No--but we can understand that is mostly developmental and not because something negative is being done. It is worth it to review peds developmental stages to understand the basics of general approaches for different ages, then tailor to the individual child/situation. And then...just accept the situation for what it is and do all in our power to lessen the stress of this for the patient.

You mentioned training in your post. If this means that you are still being trained on immunizations then I would encourage you to consider giving all of this more time. Think it over, maybe reconsider some of your own thoughts about it and give yourself a chance to get a little more comfortable with this aspect of care.  If it turns out (after time and experience) that this remains significantly distressing, talk to your supervisor to see if you could take on a different duty instead...or brainstorm for other solutions.

There's a good chance it'll all be okay...

Take care ~