Republic of the Philippines

ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY

Echague, Isabela

COLLEGE OF NURSING
Tel # 078-305-9176

Name: _______________________________ Date: ________________

Year Level & Section: ___________________

PREPARING MEDICATION FROM AMPULES

Glass ampules are often used to store medication, and as a nurse, we need to know how to
use them. So today I will be demonstrating how to prepare medication from ampules
STEPS RATINGS
First, we need to perform the assess the patient as a preparation for the 3 2 1
procedure
1. Assess if the patient is experiencing allergies within the
medication
2. Inform them about the specific drug action, side effects,
interaction, and adverse reactions
During treatment, knowing what adverse effects may occur
equips a patient to look out for possible problems, and to deal
with them appropriately if they occur.
3. Ask if they have knowledge of the medication and procedure.
 If they have not obtained knowledge about the medication
or procedure, you can give information about the
medication they’ll be taking and what are the procedures
or medication they’re receiving.

4. Check the Intended route of parenteral medication to determine

the appropriate size of syringe
5. Now we are going to check the Ordered ampule medication for
clarity and expiration date.
The ampule is… and the exp is about …
This means that the ampule is still consumable by this time.
6. Next thing we are going to do is to prepare the materials/
equipment needed.
 Client’s MAR/ Medication Card
 Ampule of sterile medication
 Since we dont have any Plastic Ampule opener/ file we
can just use gauze pad for protection while opening it.
 Antiseptic swab
 Syringe
 Tray
 Alcohol for disinfecting hand
 Supposedly there should be a filter needle but since we
don’t have it we’re just going to do it directly.
SKILLS
7. Check the MAR
 Now let’s check if the ordered medication in the MAR
is the same as the ampule that we have.
Check the label on the ampule carefully against the MAR
to make sure that the correct medication is being
prepared.
So the ampule is …. and also let’s check the dosage
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Echague, Isabela

COLLEGE OF NURSING
Tel # 078-305-9176

that the doctor ordered in the MAR, the route, and

check if we are giving it at the right time, to the right
patient.
 Follow the three checks for administering medication.
8. Perform hand hygiene and observe other appropriate infection
prevention procedures the rationale to prevent microorganisms
from spreading from nurse to the patient and vice versa.
9. Prepare the medication ampule for drug withdrawal
 There are instances that some of the medication is on the
top of the bottle so we need to Flick the upper stem of the
ampule several times with a fingernail and the medication
will go down.
 Clean the ampule using the antiseptic swab
 In opening the ampule, make sure to place sterile gauze
between your thumb and the ampule neck or around the
ampule neck for our safety.
 Then break off the top away from you to avoid accident.
 Dispose the top of the ampule in the sharps container so
that it will not cause any harm.
10. After breaking the ampule we can now Withdraw the medication
 First, we need to prepare the syringe
 Since we don’t have the filter straw we’re just going to
assume that this is a filter straw and use it directly.
 Place the ampule on a flat surface.
 Put the needle in the middle to prevent contamination
since it is considered that the side of the bottle is
contaminated.
 With a single dose ampule, hold the ampule slightly on its
side, if necessary, to obtain the ordered amount of
medication.
 The prescribed amount is 1cc or 1 ml so we’re going to
withdraw by holding it firmly so it will not move.
 So insert it and withdraw the drug.
 We need to remove the air bubbles on the top by
flickering the syringe using our thumbnail.
 Next is to put the aspirating needle back and put the
syringe back on its pack to prevent damage before we
even administer it to the patient
 Then make sure that you dispose everything that is
needed to be disposed in the appropriate container
especially if you have a filtering needle.
 We can put now the medication with the MAR on our tray.

11. If giving an injection replace the needle of the syringe, tighten the
cap at the hub of the needle
12. Push the solution into the needle to the prescribed amount
13. Dispose the needle and ampule in the appropriate container
14. After all that procedure this medication is now ready to be
 Republic of the Philippines
ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Echague, Isabela

COLLEGE OF NURSING
Tel # 078-305-9176

administered to the patient. after Performing hand hygiene.

TOTAL

Rating Scale:

1- Needs Improvement
2- Satisfactory
3- Very Satisfactory

Rating:
RS x 100
N

Where: RS- Raw score

N- Total # of items

Clinical Instructor