cherrymaryRN

Super helpful thread for new grads, thanks!!! At first I was terrified of trying, but now that I'm getting the hang of it I can't wait to stick somebody - although I try not to let them see the gleam of excitement in my eyes! :) None of the other nurses even want to try starting them, we always call the same one or two people out of another department for IV sticks which I think is a shame, so I'm determined to get good at it. We get a lot of super dehydrated folks in our urgent care center so it's always a challenge, and these tips are awesome. Thanks!

These are so great, thanks! It's an old thread, but any more tips and tricks for the little ones would be awesome - I'm a new grad with no kids of my own, so I'm learning... What about keeping the O2 sat monitor on? We have an old one in my urgent care clinic that takes a loooooong time to read, and it's always a race to see if we can distract the kid long enough before he/she starts to get really mad that there's a weird thing on their thumb/toe - and of course crying doesn't help the levels! Also, my dentist said that putting a tiny bit of salt on the tip of the tongue gets rid of the gag reflex temporarily. Has anybody ever heard of doing this for strep tests/throat cultures? (If no diet restrictions, obviously.) I also really like the "who can open their mouth the widest" thing, and of course explain explain explain if the kid's old enough... Any other tips to get kids on board with the swab?

I work in an ambulatory care setting where we see a lot of pediatric patients. I like taking care of kids, but I never felt that I was born to be a pediatric nurse - far from it! I don't have kids of my own, never did much babysitting, etc. I know, I know, it's a huge gap in my life, but I'm trying to make up for it now - better late than never, right?! Anyway, what are some of your best tips for distracting kids when you're doing something they don't like, your best one-liners, etc.? Suggestions for all ages/developmental levels would be most welcome!