NURS 3100 Exam 1 Practice

A nurse is observing a student nurse administer an intramuscular injection in the deltoid muscle. The nurse should intervene if the student nurse does which of the following?

1. Inserts the needle at a 45 degree angle with the skin.

2. Locates the site by putting the heel of the hand on the greater trochanter.

3. Plans to administer 2 mL in a single injection.

4. Selects a 1" 23-gauge needle and 3mL syringe.

The correct answer is: Inserts the needle at a 45 degree angle with the skin.

The nurse should intervene if the student nurse inserts the needle at a 45 degree angle with the skin. This is because the correct angle for inserting a needle for intramuscular injection is 90 degrees. Option B, locating the site by putting the heel of the hand on the greater trochanter, is also incorrect as this is the correct method for locating the ventrogluteal site for injection, not the deltoid muscle. Option C is incorrect because it is not recommended to administer more than 1 mL in a single injection in the deltoid muscle. Option D is incorrect because it is the correct size and type of needle and syringe for administering an IM injection, but it does not address the issue of the incorrect angle for insertion.