[Gompers]

Originally Posted by Dratz

LOL... Aint nursing school grand. I just finished reading all the posts. Ok...the barrel is that thingie that is attached to the plunger. The plunger we can touch......the barrel we cannot touch!!. But.....I am finding it pretty tricky to PULL BACK THE DERN PLUNGER without touching the barrel. Does that make sense?

As for the needle, No we were taught never to touch the sides the rim or anything on the ampule which is such a finicky little thing to begin with and tips over on the counter just by looking at it...so go figure, once I get the dern needle in the ampule WITHOUT touching the rim....then I am thinking oh lord here I am touching the sides of the ampule...so then I think how the heck can I now invert this dern ampule without touching the rim, the sides and anything else with the needle? Surely to gawd there must be a way around all this insanity?

Or.......like I was asking before, as you practice does it become easier? What are the rules in the "real world". If I follow the silly textbook then I can't get anything dirty lol.

Sheesh!! hehe too freaking funny

Okay, this is all ridiculous.

We always touch the ampule or vial when we're drawing up meds. Sometimes you have to add water or saline to reconstitue the meds - how are you supposed to shake it up without touching it??? I don't know who is telling students they can't touch the vial or ampule. This is ridiculous.

You also have to touch the barrel of the syringe to draw up and give your medication. I have no idea what these books and instructors are talking about. I have been working as a nurse for 8 years and have never heard that you can't pick up the vial or ampule, or that you can't touch the barrel of the syringe.

[Dratz]

No, you misunderstand. I said you cannot allow the NEEDLE to touch the rim of the ampule as it is considered contaminated once it has been snapped open. The text also states that you are not allowed to let the NEEDLE touch the sides of the ampule either. Which I think is ridiculous. And I totally agree with you about touching the BARREL of the syringe. I am finding it nearly impossible to not touch that part as I pull back on the plunger.

That is why it seems more difficult than it probably really is. I guess I will just have to wait until school is back in to get the real story on what you can or cannot touch but that is what my Fundamentals Text is telling me.

Thanks for your comments tho.

[Daytonite]

Perhaps these first two pictorials on "Withdrawing a Solution From an Ampule" and "Withdrawing a Solution from a Vial" will help you. There is a video you might be able to access to see this procedure from the second link.

http://teach.lanecc.edu/nursingskills/injMeds/ampule.htm
http://teach.lanecc.edu/nursingskills/mix/vial.htm

http://flightline.highline.edu/drydberg/balckboard/injection%20equipment.htm - Injection Equipment and Techniques: IM injections. Includes short discussion on needles, gauge, length and bevel, syringes and sizes (shows pictures of difference between regular and leur lock tips), what a carpuject and Tubex cartridge looks like, how to draw up solutions from an ampule or a vial, IM, subQ, intradermal and Z-Track injection techniques as well as the IM injection sites.

http://www.cotc.edu/Professional/Str...ve/nursing.htm - there are videos at this site regarding injections, but I have not looked at all of them so I do not know if they address drawing up medication from an ampule or a vial. You need a RealOne player to view the videos.

[painthorsecrazyRN]

Hi everybody, don't have time to go into detail about touching the barrel and all, but for getting used to sticking the needle in someone, get an orange and practice on it. It can be scary thinking about giving someone a shot for the first time, so maybe that will help you. When you go into a room with a patient, be confident in yourself, and you will do great!

[emllpn2006]

The only experiance I have at pulling medication out of a ampule was at school. I may be way off here but cant you turn a ampule upside down and no medication will come out. Then you can stick the needle in. hold the ampule with your thumb and forefinger, hold the out side of the syringe with your remainig fingers to steady it, then pull back on the plunger with your other hand pulling the entire contents into the syringe. Then you just waist what you dont kneed by squirting it out of the needle into a sink.