Preparing and Administering IV Push Medications

Source: Madeline Lassche, MSNEd, RN and Katie Baraki, MSN, RN, College of Nursing, University of Utah, UT

Intravenous (IV) push is the rapid administration of a small volume of medication into a patient's vein via a previously inserted IV catheter. Preparations for IV push administration are commonly provided in vials or ampules for withdrawal into a syringe. This method is used when a rapid response to a medication is required, or when the medication cannot be administered via the oral route. For instance, medications commonly administered via IV push are the ones used to treat moderate or severe pain.

Before administrating IV push, it is important to confirm the correct placement of the IV catheter, because the push medication can cause irritation and damage to the lining of the blood vessel and to surrounding tissues. Since IV push medications act quickly, the patients need to be closely monitored after the drug has been administered, and any error can be especially dangerous. It is imperative that the nurse adheres to the five "rights" and three checks of safe medication administration and is knowledgeable about the medication purpose and adverse effects. The nurse should determine the appropriate medication dose, based upon the medication concentration in the container. If the patient receives other IV medications, the nurse needs to ensure the compatibility of the IV push medication with other fluids present in the IV line and should understand the proper IV push administration rate of the medication. The following video will demonstrate how to prepare and administer an IV push injection.