Are there any nurses who will answer this question for me?!
Question: my daughter is going to nursing school and is very fearful of having to take blood from someone. Any way to get over that fear and what can happen if you do not go it right? She has practiced with dummies but has not had to do it with a real person yet.
Answers: my daughter is going to nursing school and is very fearful of having to take blood from someone. Any way to get over that fear and what can happen if you do not go it right? She has practiced with dummies but has not had to do it with a real person yet.
Before I went to nursing school I was terrified of needles; someone drawing my blood caused me to pass out.
It wasn't the easiest thing to do but with practice you get used to it. You will be taught how to do it and given practice time.
She justs needs to know that she can't hurt them - if you don't do it right then you don't get any blood - no damage to the patient. And you try again. My policy has always been that if I don't get by the second time or if the patient has little tiny veins, then I ask another nurse for help. There is always a nurse on a floor who is fantastic at drawing blood - and the best thing about being a nurse is that you have other nurses to rely on.
But the big thing is practice and knowing where the best veins are to use - again that is going to be from experience.
She should not let this fear hold her back.
Good luck in nursing school!
Why is she fearful? If it is that she is afraid she will hurt someone then she needn't worry as her instructor will help her with the first pokes. If she is afriad she'll faint seeing blood, she needs to worry about blood in more contexts than drawing blood. If you dont' draw the blood right you will cause a bruise in the person's arm.
It will pass.
Well being a doctor at UCLA medical center, I see alot of that. If she did well on her exams and practices she will soon overcome the fear. Just a little bit of practice is the only safe and effective way i can think of. Hope I helped!
Another nurse will watch as she does it. If something goes wrong, you just stop and let someone else show her again. Have her breathe thru her nose, it will help keep her calm and keep her hands from trembling. Hang in there,give it a try every chance you get, because the only way to get over the fear is to keep doing it. We've all been there and eventually got to be really good at it with practice.
Tell her she's not alone. Unfortunately even though we go through nursing school, it's mostly "on the job training", as scary as that seems. The only way for her to get better is to just do it. The more she does it on a real person the more confident she'll get. We're all nervous the first time we have to perform any type of procedure for the first time, but the anxiety passes with experience :)
The only suggestion that I have for your daughter is to possibily take your blood if you are willing. She has been taught where to find the most suitable vein in the arm, if the vein collaspes or rolls she should stop as "digging for a vein" will only cause a hema toma under the skin, which is a painful bruise. I also suggest that she speak with her nursing instructor. There really is no easy answer to this, she will just have to learn as she goes. Sorry that I don't have a better answer for you, as every patient is different. I may add that a butterfly needle may help her to overcome her fear of taking someone's blood too. It is small and easier to insert under the skin then to use a 16 or 23 gauge needle. Best of luck.
Susan