MY INNOVATIVE THINKING HELPED ALLEVIATE A PATIENT'S INJECTION FEAR

摘要

As a third-year nursing student soon to qualify, I cared for a 62-year-old palliative care patient in his own home who was receiving daily subcutaneous injections of dalteparin sodium.It soon became apparent that this injection was much more than the "sharp scratch' often referred to, and was a source of enormous anxiety for the patient because of the significant pain it caused him.The patient described the pain as a 'sharp stab' when the needle was introduced to the abdominal site, which was altered daily, followed by a "burning sensation' lasting around five minutes after the injection had been administered.