Basic Nursing Skills Medication Administration 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The Z-track technique is used for which type of injection?
- Intradermal
- Subcutaneous
- Intramuscular (Correct answer)
- Intravenous
Correct answer: Intramuscular
The Z-track technique is used for intramuscular injections to prevent medication from leaking into subcutaneous tissue and causing irritation.
Question 2: When administering eye drops, the nurse should instill the drops into the:
- Pupil directly
- Inner canthus
- Lower conjunctival sac (Correct answer)
- Upper eyelid
Correct answer: Lower conjunctival sac
Eye drops are instilled into the lower conjunctival sac (lower eyelid pouch) to prevent corneal injury and allow absorption.
Question 3: Which abbreviation on a medication order means 'twice daily'?
- QD
- BID (Correct answer)
- TID
- QID
Correct answer: BID
BID (bis in die) means twice daily; QD = once daily, TID = three times daily, QID = four times daily.
Question 4: A medication has a narrow therapeutic index. This means:
- The drug is inexpensive and widely available
- The difference between therapeutic and toxic doses is small (Correct answer)
- The drug has few side effects
- The medication can be given by any route
Correct answer: The difference between therapeutic and toxic doses is small
A narrow therapeutic index means the therapeutic dose is close to the toxic dose, requiring careful monitoring.
Question 5: Before drawing up insulin, the nurse should:
- Shake the vial vigorously
- Roll the vial gently between the palms (Correct answer)
- Heat the vial to dissolve crystals
- Refrigerate the vial for 30 minutes
Correct answer: Roll the vial gently between the palms
Insulin vials (especially NPH/cloudy types) should be rolled gently between palms to mix without causing bubbles or degrading the insulin.
Question 6: The nurse discovers a medication error after administration. The priority action is to:
- Notify the pharmacy and wait
- Assess the patient and notify the provider immediately (Correct answer)
- Document the error and continue the shift
- Do nothing if the patient appears unharmed
Correct answer: Assess the patient and notify the provider immediately
After a medication error, the priority is patient assessment and immediate notification of the provider so appropriate interventions can be ordered.
Basic Nursing Skills Medication Administration 2
The Z-track technique is used for which type of injection?