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Today was the first day on my new placement, and I think I may have put my foot it in it with my mentor already.

Doing an SC injection, I was told to draw back, which really threw me becasue i have NEVER done this before, In uni and previous wards told no need to draw back on SC's... but my mentor commented on how nurses aren't trained proparely any more.

So my question, after all that babble, should you draw back on an SC? and does anyone have any links or information on why you should/shouldn't do this?

Thanks.

Whisper

glad you got more practice :D are you paeds? just curious. what uni are you at? i dont mind if you prefer not to say. i went to Buckinghamshire Chilterns it was ok, and most of my placements were really good. havent given that many injections being in paeds they are few and far between.

Specializes in Cardiolgy.
Specializes in midwifery, ophthalmics, general practice.

hey Whisper...........its a pity your not near me! I have a hib catch up clinic booked on friday- 40 injections to give- you could get loads of practice!!

Karen

Hey Whisper,

I don't draw back on s/c was taught that way during my training a long long time ago. As part of a module I was working on I choice s/c inj the frightening thing was it showed that most nurses all grades didn't know correct sites, I was probably one of them i'm ashamed to say you live and learn

Specializes in Cardiolgy.

I have just started my evidence based practice module, and apparently I shouldn't feel and about s/c injections, as the lecturers have said that less than 25% of nursing is based on scientific evidence!

Sorry if this doesn't make much sense, I was awake most of the night finishing my first EBP assignment, and have just finished it.

sorry it took me so long but I knew I'd read it somewhere,

'needle should remain motionless during the injection process, and the nurse should not aspirate (Timby 1996, Potter & Perry 1995)

from http://www.nursesnetwork.co.uk/nurses%20office/02_06_30scinj.shtml

sorry whisper, this'll be old news by now, but just to clarify

Only draw back if you think you might hit a vein....I dont think with subcut injections you would need to bother. When I did the diphe in the uk 6 years ago we were not taught to draw back.

Specializes in Cardiolgy.

Thnaks ever so much with the link, sorry for not responding sooner, I have just moved and not had a phone line fitted yet, and I am struggling to find time to go out to check my emails.

Thanks again.

Whisper

I'm a Scottish RN (RGN) working in Canada. I think your mentor has never understood the reason for drawing back or didn't quite understand the physiology. Drawing back is only necessary for IM.and for obvious reasons. Find me a big juicy vein SC???? lol. As anothr reply stated "Humour her" I think she was probably "ticked off" that a young uni grad questioned her. Ohhhhhhh try giving injections where I am in Canada and well...enough said. In my day when we gave injections into the buttock for example...We used the old 'Explanation and reassurance, crossed the buttock with an imaginary cross and used the upper outer quadrant...used a nice little steri-swab, injected...drew back and injected slowly in a zig zag fashion....then a little reassurance again and that was it. Here, they just bang it in with no frills!!! Arrrrrrrrrrrrgh!!!!!(this is my experience oly of course...not to say that they all do that)

As a newly qualified paeds nurse i have never been taught to draw back on SC injections. I have only given a few and only 1 IM which u do draw back on

I'm a Scottish RN (RGN) working in Canada. I think your mentor has never understood the reason for drawing back or didn't quite understand the physiology. Drawing back is only necessary for IM.and for obvious reasons. Find me a big juicy vein SC???? lol. As anothr reply stated "Humour her" I think she was probably "ticked off" that a young uni grad questioned her. Ohhhhhhh try giving injections where I am in Canada and well...enough said. In my day when we gave injections into the buttock for example...We used the old 'Explanation and reassurance, crossed the buttock with an imaginary cross and used the upper outer quadrant...used a nice little steri-swab, injected...drew back and injected slowly in a zig zag fashion....then a little reassurance again and that was it. Here, they just bang it in with no frills!!! Arrrrrrrrrrrrgh!!!!!(this is my experience oly of course...not to say that they all do that)
lol :lol2: :lol2: (scottish 45yr old!!)

read the leaflet which is available in every box of clexane. it tells you to pinch the skin up so you know you only have subcutaneous tissue and dont let go of the skin until you have finished injecting.

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