Syringe & Needle Basics
This part of the syringe is the component you actively push to expel the medication.
What is the plunger?
This is the standard angle of insertion for an Intramuscular (IM) injection.
What is 90 degrees?
This is the most common angle of insertion for a Subcutaneous (SubQ) injection in an average-sized adult.
What is 45 to 90 degrees? (Depending on needle length and patient tissue)
Immediately after an injection, the needle should be disposed of in this brightly colored, puncture-resistant container.
What is a sharps container?
Don't forget to flick this out of the syringe! Failing to adequately expel this from a syringe prior to a direct intravenous injection can result in a potentially fatal circulatory blockage.
What is air? (Accept an air embolism)
This slanted tip of the needle should remain pointing upward during intradermal injections or IV insertions.
What is the bevel?
This is the preferred IM injection site for infants and toddlers receiving routine vaccines.
What is the vastus lateralis?
Because you are only entering the fatty layer below the skin, SubQ injections require a very fine needle, typically falling within this gauge range.
What is 25 to 31 gauge?
You should never perform this specific action with both hands after giving an injection, as it is a leading cause of accidental needle sticks.
What is recap a used needle?
This severe, systemic allergic reaction can occur minutes after an injection and requires immediate intervention with epinephrine.
What is anaphylaxis?
This term refers to the diameter of the needle; remember, the higher the number, the smaller the size.
What is the gauge?
This is the standard needle length range required to successfully reach muscle tissue in a normal-weight adult.
What is 1 to 1½ inches? (Note: Up to 3 inches may be needed for obese patients, and ⅝ inch for newborns/infants).
This is the standard needle length range used for most adult SubQ injections.
What is ⅜ to ⅝ inch? (Accept up to ½ inch depending on the specific insulin syringe).
If you absolutely must recap a clean, unused needle after drawing up medication, you must use this specific one-handed technique.
What is the scoop method?
If you accidentally inject an IM medication directly into a blood vessel, the medication will absorb at this rate compared to muscle tissue.
What is much faster? (Accept instantly/rapidly)
This is the colored plastic base that securely attaches the needle to the barrel of the syringe.
What is the hub?
When giving an IM injection to an older adult, you may need to use a needle with a shorter length, such as 1 inch, due to the age-related loss of this specific tissue.
What is muscle mass?
You should avoid massaging the injection site after administering this specific SubQ anticoagulant to prevent severe bruising and hematoma formation.
What is Heparin? (Accept Lovenox / enoxaparin)
A sharps container is considered legally full and must be replaced when it reaches this capacity.
What is 3/4 (or 75%) full?
This localized complication occurs when a vesicant medication inadvertently leaks out of the vein and into the surrounding subcutaneous tissue, causing necrosis.
What is extravasation?
To withdraw medication from a glass ampule, you must attach this specific type of needle to prevent glass shards from entering the syringe.
What is a filter needle?
To locate this IM site, you place the heel of your hand over the greater trochanter with your index finger pointing toward the anterior superior iliac spine.
What is the ventrogluteal site?
When administering insulin over a long period, you must do this to the injection sites to prevent lipohypertrophy (tissue damage).
What is rotate the sites?
This is the immediate, first action a nurse must take if they sustain an accidental needle stick injury on the job.
What is wash the area immediately with soap and water? (Followed immediately by reporting it)
If a severely contaminated needle is used to administer an injection that reaches the vascular system, it can quickly lead to this life-threatening, whole-body inflammatory response to an infection.
What is sepsis?