I’m in a phlebotomy class and need to complete 30 successful sticks. I’m currently at around 6 and we have two sessions left before a friends & family day and the practical.
In my most recent class, I had a really rough session where I had done 10 capillary sticks, two butterfly needles in the hand and two straight needles in the arm, and my body kind of freaked out (lightheaded, hyperventilating, etc.). I’ve actually had issues with hyperventilating when getting poked in the past, but I really tried to put that aside for this class and get used to it.
Honestly though, my body just was not having it this time, and I ended up getting really overwhelmed and started hyperventilating on the spot and it was hard to calm myself down. Since then, even thinking about it makes me feel stressed. It doesn’t feel like a pain issue, more like my body just gets overloaded and I start panicking. My instructor says it’s too early to worry and that I can come back to finish sticks if needed, which helps, but I still feel behind compared to others and kind of like a failure, especially since I’m pre-med.
Has anyone else had a similar experience during training?
How did you deal with the anxiety or overwhelm during sticks?
And how are you supposed to approach this if you really don’t feel comfortable getting poked yourself?