Have You Ever Poked Yourself?

I've been drawing ABGs for nearly 30 years now, and I take pride in never having accidentally poked myself after a draw. I'm grateful for that because I'm not the type to willingly report such incidents—I'd rather avoid the testing they'd require. If it ever did happen, I'd probably keep it quiet and carry on with my day.

Fortunately, it's not something I've had to deal with because I've never accidentally poked myself.

I have poked myself with the needle, however, Thankfully, each time I have done this it was prior to the poke, not after. I have poked my finger, usually my left pointer finger, probably less than five times. I try to avoid it for the same reason I don't want to poke myself after the draw: It's a waste of time. 

So, you get the needle all ready. And you have the patient all prepped. And you poke yourself, and inside your head you mutter the words, "SHIT!" You mutter these words silently, because on the outside you keep your cool. You want no one to know what happened. 

If you accidentally poke yourself with a needle, promptly dispose of it. Apply a bandage if there's any bleeding, and then wash your hands thoroughly. Prepare a new needle and proceed carefully. That's what I've always done. I'm certainly not wasting my time reporting something especially when the needle was clean -- and plus it would be embarrassing to make an issue out of a simple clean and harmless poke. 

How often do you find yourself in this situation? What's your usual response when it happens? No judgment here—we all make mistakes sometimes.