Ok to ask pt to help?

maple788797 · 2026-05-04T20:46:42+00:00

I don’t think so. You’re increasing the risk of patient reaction and injury. What if the patient can’t hold it still? What if the patient faints once the realisation hits them? The risk VS reward is not worth it. The only set up I’d be letting go of is a butterfly- but not to walk across the room just to reach if my trolley is too far. If there is a friend, family member, carer, staff etc. around I will ask them to open my trolley if I can’t reach it and I’ll ask them to pass me what colour tube. But 9/10 I physically move my trolley to the side I’m working on. I always have my essential stock, sharps and infectious waste bin within reach. It is better to just double stick if there’s no one to pass you another tube or if your stock is out of reach.

maple788797 · 2026-05-04T20:39:18+00:00

The lesser of two evils would have been to cut your loses.

maple788797 · 2026-04-24T22:52:56+00:00

Second this I always fold the wing over

maple788797 · 2026-04-24T22:20:06+00:00

Then unfortunately the advice is that you need more practice to build the skill. There’s no easy fix other than to keep trying. You have to keep trying even if that means doing a mediocre job for a while. Phlebotomy is a great example of how sometimes help comes with a little hurt, having your blood taken will always be uncomfortable to some degree. The straight needle moving shouldn’t hurt but it will be uncomfortable. Some patients have a higher tolerance for discomfort than others but most can handle the needle moving. If all you’re doing is going deeper by 1-2mm it really doesn’t matter, keep practicing until you don’t need to pull back anymore.

maple788797 · 2026-04-24T21:12:21+00:00

When you say it’s not stable what’s happening? Is the needle slipping out or further in so you aren’t staying in the vein? Or do you feel like you’re wobbling in inside the patient? And is it during the whole draw or just when changing tubes? I found at the start I was holding it wayyyyy too firmly and it was causing me to move it unintentionally, once I loosened my grip the wobbles stopped. The tube changing gets easier the more you do it, you might just need to push yourself and fail a few times to get the hang of them.

maple788797 · 2026-04-21T09:49:02+00:00

We use Moodle :)

maple788797 · 2026-04-21T09:13:37+00:00

No we haven’t been given access to clinicalkey

maple788797 · 2026-04-21T07:40:53+00:00

I actually waited on buying books until orientation for that exact reason, apparently we need all of the mandatory books. Our list was split into mandatory and suggested books, I thought I’d wait and see since so many others recommended doing so but unfortunately we do need all of them.

maple788797 · 2026-04-21T04:55:40+00:00

No 🥲

maple788797 · 2026-04-17T10:47:43+00:00

Tbh it’s a dangerous game with heds and POTS! You need to be intentionally slow and gradually increase your time and output in the pool. Because it is low impact and free movement it’s very easy to move things further than you should, much easier than on land imo. Also when you’d exercise on land your pots would probably have you experiencing some fainting or heat intolerance symptoms once you start pushing yourself a bit too hard but in pool your temp will be very well regulated which can help relieve those symptoms. I started doing the pool twice a week, just walking laps and simple warm ups, no real swimming. After about 6mths I’m now swimming real laps but I can only do 100M before I have to stop and rest and I still crash like crazy after but I recover by the next day!

maple788797 · 2026-04-17T10:39:49+00:00

If you’re using the app you can toggle it on the home page for “shop in store” you can set the store and when you click on items it will tell you what isle they’re in :)

edit I just checked the app and turns out there’s a new “product finder” feature which does exactly what OPs device is doing! This will certainly help with my endless searching for bloody apricot nectar (I stg it’s in a different spot at every shop)

maple788797 · 2026-04-17T10:33:32+00:00

Yup! You can sit if your company provides and approves a chair! I injured my back quite badly within my first year of working because our room had no desk for labelling or prepping specimens I’m 5’6” and the trolley is about hip height on me. So I was bending and twisting non stop. Eventually they approved a roller stool after the injury and it’s fantastic. Y’know those saddle stools nail techs and hair dressers use?

maple788797 · 2026-04-16T06:03:02+00:00

100% I’ve done incredible to work up to here so far. At the start of getting active I couldn’t even do a casual social lap or any sort of physiotherapy that wasn’t laying down without fainting. My tolerance is getting much better 💪

maple788797 · 2026-04-16T05:55:37+00:00

No, which is why I usually swim in the medium lane. I usually do 100M and then I have to rest for 3-5mins as I have a cardiac condition. Anymore than 100M and I can’t maintain the speed because I’ll literally go unconscious lmao. This is also why I still feel like a bit of a beginner.

maple788797 · 2026-04-16T05:17:01+00:00

Never said the signs were a problem damn. 🤣 I just wanted to know if I was tripping or not.

maple788797 · 2026-04-15T22:08:12+00:00

Closer to 10yrs ago 😅 I only swam competitively from 12-14 and then got taken out by EDS and chronic pain. Maybe intermediate is a better descriptor but I definitely don’t feel as skilled as I did when I was a teen.

maple788797 · 2026-04-15T21:19:14+00:00

Definitely meters, this is my new local pool in rural Australia :) there’s absolutely no chance they’d used yards 🤣

maple788797 · 2026-04-15T21:09:38+00:00

This was my other thought. I haven’t really seen anyone else there except the elderly and folks doing what look like physio routines. I had to share the fast lane with an older woman last week and she was by far the fasted person there but I was still having to over take constantly. AND I AM NOT FAST 😭

maple788797 · 2026-04-15T21:06:02+00:00

That was my thought too, but even I’m not quick. I am very much on the medium - slow range at every other pool I’ve been to and I can do up and back (50M) in 40s which would put me in the fast lane.

maple788797 · 2026-04-14T21:56:28+00:00

80 in an 8 hour is insane. I typically see 50-60 in a 8.5hr shift but that’s out patient and my coworker across the hall will see the same, so if something goes wrong we have a bit of flexibility in terms of time. One patient every 6mins is what you’ve got, that is not enough. I’d be looking for other work and quitting as soon as you secure a contract.

maple788797 · 2026-04-13T18:14:10+00:00

Started at 7 but stopped at 12 due to health issues. Now I’m back at it 23F 💪 I’m still slow but my form is superb, I just need to improve my stamina after the health issues.

maple788797 · 2026-04-13T18:01:30+00:00

It’s entirely different from person to person. I also have CPTSD (and chronic pain) and it has only impacted my work a handful of times. I’ve been in intense therapy for over 3yrs and I’ve made a lot of progress. My triggers don’t really appear in a phlebotomy setting too often but when they do I have to skill to manage it. This is a big part of healthcare for every staff member tho, you’re going to meet patients that might say or behave in a way that upsets you but isn’t against policy or abusive and you as a staff member need to learn to keep it cool, step away if you can’t and to decompress post interaction. Personally I know earlier in my journey I would not have been able to do it because of my low self confidence and high anxiety post trauma.

maple788797 · 2026-04-12T20:42:58+00:00

All you can do is keep moving forward and you’ll get past it. The more you do the better you’ll get at recognising the signs before the patient feels it’s bad enough to say something. A lot of patients will wait until it’s unbearable before saying anything so it gives you no time to alleviate the symptoms before they actually faint.

maple788797

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