Shots

Hi Everyone-

I was looking over a book this weekend about nursing school, and there was a section in there about injections! My question is: for RN, do you have to practice injections on one another, and if so-where (the upper arm, etc)? Also, do you have to do blood draws?

I want to be a nurse very bad, but I have a thing with getting needles in the veins in the middle of my arm. Is this going to prevent me from completing nursing school?

Thanks guys!

Erin

[jenrninmi, MSN, RN]

Hi,

I believe it depends on the nursing school. We practiced on eachother and it was no big deal. We haven't done blood draws yet. Good luck!!

[colleen10]

We haven't covered blood draws in school yet but for injections we practiced a little bit with the dummie and a gel pad and then operated a flu vaccination clinic. Got lots of practice there.

[twarlik]

I'm in my first semester and we've done injections, IVs and blood draws. Like Colleen, we practiced on gel pads and did a vaccine clinic. Got really good at IMs.

As for IVs and blood draws...We don't practice on each other, in fact we're not even supposed to take our sharps home with us. We practice on the dummies in lab only.

Check with you school and see what their policy is. Every school is different.

Have fun!

[shape0fmyheart]

We haven't done blood draws yet either but for injections we used oranges and we also had a gel pad. Nothing like the real thing though, which today was my first one on a REAL person! Wasn't bad at all, all I can remember though is a blur :chuckle

[maire, ASN, RN]

We didn't practice on each other; we used the sims and the gel pads. The poor peds patients were our "guinea pigs."

[road runner2003]

Oranges - while in B.of nursing earlier this yr we had to practice on oranges. I know some students - I think 2nd/3rd yrs practice some things- HbG (? - if I recall correctly), blood glucose checks during open days - parents/students volunteer - 'act as the guinea pig'.