One of my nurses cannulated the wrong spot on my dialysis access which they were taught not to do
Well today it so happened and this is just a case of miscommunication because one of my nurses pricked the wrong spot on my arm for the "Arterial" vein. For those who doesn't know about dialysis access of dialysis patients, the fistula created in the arm has two sections, one is for drawing out blood and the other is for returning the blood from and to the dialysis machine when being cleaned.
My fistula has this four scar sections which developed over the years of pricking it by large needles. The farthest scar from the spot where the artery and the vein is no longer used because the nurses now already ruined it, they could not seem to place the needle there so I was left with three main "button" scars which they can work with. Anyway, button scars form when the skin is pricked over and over again for many years, so it grow big while for some patients, they grow big enough to be removed or repaired like basically removing all the length of the AV fistula in the arm.
This morning the nurse assigned to cannulate my arm asked me where she would want me to get pricked for the arterial vein. I thought that she was referring to the top or the side of the first button scar. Now I do not want her to prick the top section of the any button scar because it will be hard to put out the bleeding when the needle is taken-out from that part of the button scar.
So I told her to prick the lower section, but what she was actually referring to was either the first button scar or the second button scar next to it. What happened now was that the needles for taking out the blood and the needle for returning the blood went so close to each other.
The issue was that renal nurses should not place the needles so close to each other because the dialysis will not be as efficient compared to if the needles were farther apart. During the cannulation I would always close my eyes because pricking my arm with large needles is still horrific for me and I might pass-out even though I am already used to the discomfort. That is why I haven't seen where on my arm which the nurse cannulated.
Well it is too late because I only learned about it after my arm was patched after the dialysis treatment session. No wonder the the other nurse was telling me that the needles were close to each other. So next time when that particular nurse or any of them asks me where on my arm they should cannulate, I will make sure that they will prick the exact button scar.
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A qualify nurse should know were to insert a cannula even without asking a patient except she is a trainee not a real nurse.
Most of them are quite hard-headed and doesn't learn or ignores their mentors. I just thank God that I am not that in a hardship but I am sad that senior nurses are going away to work abroad so it feels like patients here are used to get themselves trained and when they are good enough, they go to be in a "greener pastures" although I can't blame them because otherwise they will not be able to raise a family and things like that.
But dialysis patients are always facing new nurses which makes mistakes if not wanting to learn.
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Sorry about that dear I feel your pains
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