Intramuscular and Subcutaneous Injection †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Intramuscular and Subcutaneous Injection. Answer: Introduction The rationale of this reflective writing is to enable learners to develop personal and professional self-awareness regarding professional practice. It uses Gibbs reflective cycle to focus on the different types of drug administration which include oral, subcutaneous and intramuscular injection. The cycle encourages one to think systematically about the stages of an experience (Moon, 2013); hence all of its headings (description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, and action plan) will be used throughout the reflection. My performance about giving oral medication would be good because the oral route is one of the easiest as well as the most commonly used method for administration of drugs. The drugs can exert both systemic and local effects, and patients can be in a position to take medications orally and independently with a few complications. Besides, situations can arise that keep a client from taking drugs by this rote. According to Mignani et al., (2013), if a person is nauseated or is vomiting another route can be used. Before administering, oral drugs, I would assess the patient for swallowing difficulties and ensure he/she is in a proper position to reduce risks of choking or aspirating Medications can also be administered via subcutaneous injection; drugs that require slow plus sustained absorption are administered subcutaneously (Jin et al., 2015). Although the route is commonly used for heparin and insulin, the administration is done below the dermis as well as the epidermis layers into the subcutaneous tissues. The goodness of this practice is that absorption is very fast from the abdomen, slower from the upper arm, thigh, hip and the buttock. However, the arm appears to be less painful, but the abdomen is usually chosen since it has thick subcutaneous tissues. The poor practice of administering intramuscular injections (IM) (a procedure used to deliver medication deep into the muscles) can have debilitating consequences to the patient. Although it is normal to experience discomfort after the injection, certain complications can arise to cause more severe problems. The poor practice of intramuscular injection can lead to prolonged bleeding, numbness/tingling, allergic reactions and severe pain at the region of injection (Mignani et al., 2013). The three events discussed above (the goodness of giving oral medication, the good practice of subcutaneous injection and the poor practice of IM injection) have influenced my perception a lot regarding the type of drug administration to different clients. However, from the mentioned events, I have learned that people react differently to different injections hence it would be significant to examine the patient first before deciding on the route to use. The different types of administration of drugs have broadened my learning experience on different routes that can be used to deliver medications to patients. This is because different people react differently to different medications hence it would be in my best interest to choose the best administrations that do not bring complication into the patients health. The clinical learning that transpired from these practice skills is the use of proper drug administration strategies depending on the current status and medical history of a patient. As it evident some drugs are bitter or have bad taste when taken orally, and to help on that it would be ideal to mix the medicine with a small amount of food like ice-cream or applesauce. For the children, do not mix the drugs with formula or milk since they may refuse it later. References Jin, J. F., Zhu, L. L., Chen, M., Xu, H. M., Wang, H. F., Feng, X. Q., ... Zhou, Q. (2015). The optimal choice of medication administration route regarding intravenous, intramuscular, and subcutaneous injection. Patient preference and adherence, 9, 923. Mignani, S., El Kazzouli, S., Bousmina, M., Majoral, J. P. (2013). Expand classical drug administration ways by emerging routes using dendrimer drug delivery systems: a concise overview. Advanced drug delivery reviews, 65(10), 1316-1330. Moon, J. A. (2013). Reflection in learning and professional development: Theory and practice. Routledge.