Skill 50
Parenteral Medication Preparation
Ampules and Vials
Ampules contain single doses of injectable medication in a liquid form. An ampule is made of glass with a constricted, prescored neck that is snapped off to allow access to the medication. A colored ring around the neck indicates where the ampule is prescored. Medication is easily withdrawn from the ampule by aspirating with a filter needle and syringe. Filter needles must be used when preparing medication from a glass ampule to prevent glass particles from being drawn into the syringe (Alexander et al., 2009; Nicholl and Hesby, 2002).
A vial is a single- or multi-dose plastic or glass container with a rubber seal at the top. Vials may contain liquid or dry forms of medications. Some vials have two chambers separated by a rubber stopper. One chamber contains the diluent solution; the other contains the dry medication. Before preparing the medication, push on the upper chamber to dislodge the rubber stopper and allow the powder and the diluent to mix. Unlike an ampule, a vial is a closed system. You must inject air into the vial to permit easy withdrawal of the solution.
Delegation Considerations
The skill of preparing injections from ampules and vials cannot be delegated to nursing assistive personnel (NAP).
Equipment
Both
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