smoother than you think

In Washington state, one of the perks of being a pharmacist is the license to administer vaccinations. The thought of vaccinations and booster shots transports me back to a waiting room with asbestos tile floors, military green walls, and tattered Lil Golden Classic children's books. It was the county building and the place the children of our town learned to dread. With such a vivid memory of my own inoculations, I was a little trepidatious about being the person doing the sticking. Luckily, pharmacists don't do many childhood vaccines. However, when learning to perform injections, you have to start somewhere. And that somewhere is your own belly fat and the deltoid of your lab partner.

If I thought examining cadavers was surreal, its not nearly as odd as preparing yourself to stick something sharp into the arm of another person. But the needle seems to just glide right in and before you know it, the syringe is emptied and dropped with a satisfying plunk into the red sharps container.

Then it was my turn to receive a "vaccine" from my partner. Maybe it was just my imagination, but he seemed to insert the needle very slowly and I could feel the cool metal of the needle inside my muscle. It made me wonder how it had felt when I inject him just moments before.

The whole experience of giving and receiving injections once again drove home the reality of what I'm going to be doing in a few years. When I think of the huge responsibility of my future work, my knees feel a little weak. But like most things in life, the anxiety built up around an event is much more frightening than the event itself. When I'm licensed and legal I'm sure I'll feel more ready to take on such a role.