Needling Problems

Do you find that once trained you are able to handle needling problems, or must you call the nurse trainer and go back in unit?

Hmmm…what are you thinking of? I haven’t had a problem requiring intervention.

Patients that I’ve known have told me that once they learned how to do their own needle sticks they rarel had a problem with a stick compared with problems staff sometimes have with sticks. They described the reason for this as being 1) having the time to be more deliberate about the needle stick, 2) knowing their own access well, and 3) recognizing how it feels when the needle is going in correctly.

I agree with Beth. I’ve been sticking myself for almost a year now (I’ve been using the buttonhole technique for about 6 months) and I have only had a couple of difficult sticks. Only 1 that I can really remember, which happened while I was still in-center so there was a tech right there to help me. I can definitely feel the needle and tell whether or not it is going astray when I am threading it. That lets me fix any problems before they occur, whereas a tech can’t feel it the same way I do.