A needlestick poke or procedure may cause children of any age to experience pain or anxiety. Because we care about your child's physical and emotional health, we have developed the Michigan Medicine Poke Program to help reduce the pain and fear surrounding needlestick pokes and uncomfortable procedures.
Our Poke Program Team wants to make your child as comfortable as possible while undergoing procedures or pokes. You and your child will have a voice in determining how a poke or procedure will be carried out. You’ll be asked to fill out a Poke and Procedure Plan which tells us how your child responds to pain and discomfort, and provides you with choices to help lessen your child's pain and reduce their concern.
By offering your child control through asking their opinion, listening to their answers, and teaching them coping skills, we hope to make each needlestick poke and/or uncomfortable procedure a more positive experience.
We are committed to partnering with you and your child for the best possible experience at Michigan Medicine.
Check out Poke-A-Dot, the Comfort Dog and friends
This animated program has been shown to help significantly reduce the young child’s fear and anxiety which improves their patient experience on its own. Spending just a few seconds introducing it to the patient prior to them watching the video, greatly enhances its effectiveness.
Focus groups with young children watching the video, confirmed that the key program points were understood and helping them to be less afraid about having an injection.
The above program is an short overview of the full-length animated presentation.
Poke and Procedure Plan