Nothing promotes togetherness like shared embarrassment. And heaven knows that nursing school is chock full of embarrassing situations – which can also be friendly blackmail stories!
A prime example of this awkwardness is the dreaded medication administration return demo. I don’t know what other schools call it, but at my school this return demo meant that we worked in pairs to demonstrate our competency in giving various kinds of medications, with an instructor looking over your shoulder the entire time (no pressure!) Part of this demo involved giving your lab partner two injections (tiny amounts of saline, not real meds), one subcutaneous (fatty tissue) and one intramuscular (muscle). The fatty tissue injection could either be given in the back of the arm or the stomach fat, and the muscle shot was to be given in the hip, which we all referred to as the “butt shot” because… well… it was kind of near ones buttocks.
Was it embarrassing to give/receive a shot in the butt? You bet. Did it make for a great story which makes us giggle to this day? Absolutely! Plus, we got fun cartoon Band-Aids afterwards, which we showed off like badges of honor (only the arm and stomach ones, not the hip ones, obviously!)
Not wanting to scare anyone going into or currently in nursing school, but you will encounter situations which initially make you want to run and hide, but the key is to embrace the awkwardness and give it everything you’ve got – you’ll be thankful later.
If the mood strikes me, I may decide to post other embarrassing and/or funny nursing stories later on, so stay tuned… 🙂
A Special Strength 