Question

The nurse is administering an intramuscular injection to a client. Which action made by the nurse could assess whether the needle is in the client's blood vessel or not?

a) waiting 10 seconds with the needle still in place and the skin held taut
b) inserting the needle at a 90-degree angle
c) aspirating for a blood return
d) withdrawing the needle and immediately releasing the taut skin

Answer 1

The nurse can assess if the needle is in a blood vessel by aspirating for a blood return, which involves pulling back on the syringe plunger after needle insertion.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct action made by the nurse to assess whether the needle is in the client's blood vessel is c) aspirating for a blood return. This practice involves pulling back on the syringe plunger after needle insertion to see if any blood enters the syringe, which indicates that the needle may have entered a blood vessel. In such a case, the nurse would need to remove the needle and select a different site for injection.