My immunization experience

Hello,
I created this blog as part of an assignment for my Bachelor in Science of Nursing program change project, but as well as to get input and discussion on a topic that I know is controversial. My project encompasses the ideas of all pain management for infants and toddlers while receiving routine immunization injections. I had a personal experience that has troubled me since. I had heard wonderful stories of colleagues I work with taking their children to be immunized at the public health unit. They had told me about distraction techniques they were taught, the detailed information about each injection and the autonomy they were given with which to choose if their child would receive all the injections. My experience was the complete opposite. They weighed each child, checked you in and then we were asked to wait in a large room with other children. You could hear each child cry as they were injected, in offices down the hall. There were two nurses sitting behind a table, not once did they come around and ask if we had any questions, or fears. No one provided us with any distraction techniques training, or any excercises to help alleviate the pain felt by our child. Another RN came and called our name and took us to her office. She briefly went through the immunizations that would be given, and gave us some handouts. She told us to hold our son down on our lap and gave us some bells to shake in front of him. She never tried to interact with our son, nor did she try to see what his interests in the room might be, like the mobile hanging above the examining table behind her. She injected him with the first injection, he was to receive a total of four, and then asked us to console him. I told her to continue and get them all over with and then I would console him at that point. She continued. It felt like a disaster, he screamed, I felt disempowered and disgusted with the example of my profession sitting there. I needed to make change! The next time was even worse. The RN attempted to put the injection in my 8 month old son's arm. I explained that this was against protocols, and procedures. She argued with me and I was asked to leave while my husband stayed and my son received the injection in his arm, where he got a large red bump and had it for a number of months after. Again I felt disempowered and even more frustrated, I cannot even imagine what Mom's who are scared prior to the first injection are feeling. Where was this wonderful experience everyone had told me about? Where was the empowerment, the autonomy, the encouragement from the nursing profession?

So this is why I decided to look at infant and toddler pain with immunizations, techniques studied to alleviate the pain, and ways with which to make it common among the profession to provide all individuals with a positive experience.