For medical start-ups and professionals, training is a must. It never ends. You always need to enhance your skills. Let’s take a look at some of the basics.
Flu Vaccine Injections
Flu vaccine injection procedures are being taught on a far wider scale than ever. This is because many private pharmacies look to either introduce or refresh the skills of their pharmacists in order to privatize the national community pharmacy Flu Vaccination Service. But how often do pharmacists need to be trained in these techniques?
While vaccinations may seem like a simple procedure, flu vaccination training is required to ensure that your pharmacy staff is continuing to perform all techniques and procedures in a correct and safe manner. There are courses available via the likes of Bradley University Online. During the colder months, the number of people visiting a pharmacy to get a flu jab increases dramatically. As the staff sees so many people, it's very easy for bad habits or shortcuts to creep in – as is the case with any profession. For this reason, medical training must be provided every two years.
This type of training does not just comprise of going over techniques when it comes to injection, it also includes being taught basic life support to ensure that staff is able to cope with an emergency. Despite being a seemingly everyday procedure, there are rare occasions when injection goes wrong. Unlike the dramatic stories you've likely heard about flu vaccinations, the vast majority of these complications will mostly relate to minor bruising that will heal up. However, on very rare occasions, more serious complications can arise. For this reason, it's important that your staff understand how to proceed in the event of an emergency.
Cannulation And Venepuncture Training Is Important
Cannulation and venepuncture training is important in order for healthcare staff to draw blood from a patient or for the purposes of intravenous therapy. However, when some professionals read that the procedure does not require any formal certification or qualifications to be performed, they perhaps feel that they can understand it through the internet ‘how to' guides.
But the reality is that formal venepuncture training is vital and the procedure should not be performed without some sort of tuition – which includes practical experience under the supervision of an experienced practitioner. Some who have had such medical training in the past may feel that they do not need to do a full course to ‘brush up' on the basics. However, if anything were to go wrong with the procedure due to a failure to keep up with current guidelines and protocols within your workplace, you would be seen as liable for any adverse effects that the patient suffers.
If you feel you are being pushed into doing this work and don't have the up-to-date knowledge you require, you should let your supervisor know before you attempt to do it. Thankfully, courses in venepuncture are neither extremely extensive nor expensive and can be completed in about 20 hours through a combination of studying in your own time and practical experience overseen by a supervisor. It's not worth risking your career and a patient's well-being by performing venepuncture or cannulation through guesswork.
Important To Learn The Complications Behind Venepuncture
Venepuncture class training and phlebotomy classes can really help healthcare professionals who have either never performed the procedure before or who haven't performed it for quite some time. While Venepuncture doesn't require formal phlebotomy program certification to perform it, there are a number of complications that can occur if done improperly.
While it is true that Venepuncture is known not to carry many risks – it is, after all, carried out on an everyday basis in each healthcare facility – this only applies if it is done properly. If the procedure hasn't been performed by a healthcare professional who has been properly trained to a certification level in phlebotomy (drawing blood) and Venepuncture, then this is where problems begin.
These problems can include the likes of minor complications such as hematoma and bruises where the Venepuncture mark has been made. However, more serious complications from improper phlebotomy technician techniques including phlebitis (inflammation of the vein), syncope (fainting), ictus (stroke or seizure) and cellulitis (lymph damage, potentially life-threatening).
Also, further complications can be caused if an artery is punctured instead of a vein, or if the puncture is made too close to a nerve. It should be clear that the risks of performing the Venepuncture procedure without proper venepuncture training are not worth it. If you have previously received medical training classes in Venepuncture and phlebotomy some time ago but aren't feeling comfortable enough to perform the procedure, then you should tell your supervisor that is the case. As any healthcare professional knows, it is, of course, better to risk potentially disappointing your supervisor than risk a patient's blood, health, and your career.
