Medications

How to draw up medication from a vial and an ampule

Other platforms explain it with text and video. In VMS you practice it on the patient.

Nursing (NCLEX)
Practice it in VR with Blocky

Vials and ampules need different techniques. Using the wrong one can leave glass in the dose or contaminate a vial for the next patient.

What you need

Step by step

  1. Check the drug three times

    Compare the label with the order when you take it, while you prepare it and at the bedside. Check the expiry date. [1]

  2. Vial: clean the top

    Scrub the rubber top with alcohol and let it dry. Use a new sterile needle and syringe for every entry. [2]

  3. Vial: add air and draw

    Inject air equal to the dose into the vial, turn it upside down, keep the needle tip in the liquid and draw the dose. [2]

  4. Ampule: clear the neck

    Tap or flick the top so all liquid falls into the body. Wrap the neck with gauze and snap it away from you. [2]

  5. Ampule: use a filter needle

    Draw the liquid with a filter needle to catch glass pieces. Do not inject air into an ampule. [1]

  6. Change needle and remove air

    Swap the filter needle for the injection needle. Tap the syringe and push out air bubbles to the exact dose. [2]

  7. Label and discard

    Label the syringe if it leaves your hands. Throw away unused ampule contents and single-dose vials. [3]

Common errors

Practice it in VMS

In VMS you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.

VMS cases that train this skill

Sources

  1. Open RN, Nursing Pharmacology 2e (CC BY 4.0)
  2. Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) (CC BY 4.0)
  3. The Joint Commission, National Patient Safety Goals

Steps adapted from Open RN, Nursing Pharmacology 2e and Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College), licensed under CC BY 4.0. VMS is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.