IV Push check off

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Jan 22, 2012

too fast for what? some drugs have to be given over a minute, two minutes, whatever; some can be given about as fast as you can push them in without damaging the catheter or the vein. volume also makes a difference. can you clarify about what your instructor said?

fmxkrazyone · Jan 22, 2012

First off I would say double check your math to make sure you have the right calculation, that is always where I would mess up thinking I had the math and being too quick to turn in my answer. Make sure you have it right.

When you are pushing the drug, just take your time, there is no reason to hurry. If you have a long push then push a little, whatever your calculation says and then just let go of the syringe until it's time to push again so you don't start pushing too quickly, then pick it up and start pushing again, as long as the syringe stays connected to the saline lock, you're fine. Push over the right amount of time, flush, clamp your saline lock and your good to go. Practice doing long pushes with small amounts of meds, run through a few different scenarios so you'll feel prepared, practice until you feel like you could do it without thinking and you'll be ready. Once you have the math down, it's a pretty easy skill. Good luck!!

NCRNMDM, ASN, RN · Jan 22, 2012

As Grntea said, some drugs have different rates at which they must be pushed. Take Toradol (Ketorolac), for instance. Let's say that you are going to administer 30 mg of Toradol via IV push. All the vials of Toradol I've ever seen have been 30 mg in 1 ml. Therefore, to give 30 mg you would draw up the full one milliliter. Toradol should be pushed over two minutes, so you have to really pace yourself when giving it. Two minutes is a long time when you are pushing one milliliter of a drug. If you divide the dose and time in half, you find out that by giving 0.5 ml in one minute you can give the full one ml in two minutes. If you really want to get technical about it, this means pushing the plunger past one of the small tick marks on the syringe every 12 seconds. I don't get that technical when I'm giving Toradol. I connect the syringe to the IV hub, and wait until the second hand on my watch is at 12. Once five seconds (give or take) have passed, I push a little of the drug. I wait another five or ten seconds, and then push more of the drug. I continue in this manner until I've given the full dose over two minutes.