In today’s blog post, we are going to take a look at flu jabs. This information is helpful to both patients and those in the medical sector. 

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Tips For Those Performing Flu Jabs

Courses in administering injections training are highly sought after. Due to governmental relaxation on the ability for pharmacies to offer flu and travel vaccinations, uptake of vaccinations has increased dramatically. In order to perform health vaccinations, pharmacists need to keep their skills up to date according to mandatory guidelines.

While there is only a requirement for face-to-face flu vaccination training every two years, it is still advised that pharmacies provide medical training before the flu season to make sure staff are still up-to-date on their vaccination techniques. This need not be face-to-face, but can be done via an online training provider. One of the most common mistakes that can happen during flu season, due to the high volume of people coming through the doors for flu jabs, is mixing up medicines. This can be done due to poor placement and categorisation, or through mixing up similarly named products. Another simple step is to check the expiry date of the vaccination being used. While this may seem an obvious tip, we can easily fall into the assumption that medicine and vaccines will be in date. Oversights happen. Also, hygiene is incredibly important. It can be so easy to take shortcuts when it comes to hygiene – particularly if the pharmacist is feeling overworked during a busy period. However, poor hygiene can have both a detrimental effect on the quality of the vaccine and may also bring about complications. Always wash your hands; always wear gloves.

Training Drives Correct Procedures

Training to give injections under current guidelines is required by pharmacists working in the commercial market. This training should be updated every two years as mandatory, whether you are a primary care provider, pharmacist, or you work at a hospital. However, during that period, some staff – due to not performing many vaccinations, for instance – may become uncomfortable with remembering proper technique or may try to take shortcuts.

If you run a pharmacy, it is your responsibility to ensure your staff are not acting negligently, particularly in regards to such an invasive procedure as an injection. This need not only cover hygiene, but it can relate to procedure too. For example, some vaccinations require reconstitution via a diluent. The requirements for the storage of such vaccines may vary. Some staff may get into the habit of reconstituting vaccines prematurely. It is advised that it is not good practice to reconstitute vaccinations in advance of usage. If this is the case, then the vaccine should be labelled with the time and date of the reconstitution, along with the initials of the person who performed the action. This ensures that they or a fellow pharmacist can determine if too much time has passed to use the vaccine. 

This is just one reason why regular refresher flu vaccination training is good practice. By keeping staff updated on medical training and changes in procedure, this ensures that your vaccination service is free of problems and from complaints; and is trusted by members of the local community who use the service.