Routes of Medication Administration

Enternal medication administration is by digestive tract. Enternal medication administration covers oral, naso-gastric tube, g-tube, and intestinal tubes.

Oral (PO) route is the most convenient and cheapest form of administration. Oral medications cannot be given to patients who are unconscious, confused, on gastric suction and dysphagic. The types of oral medications are tablets, capsules, liquids, elixirs, powers, suspensions, and sublingual. Oral medications are also the slowest absorbed medications.

Mucus membrane administration is done by buccal, sublingual, nose drops, eye drops, ear drops, rectal applications, some inhalants and vaginal suppositories.

Topical administration is delivered through the skin. Topical administration would include ointments, lotions, creams, gels, and patches. When placing a patch on your patient you should always date and initial the patch so the next medication nurse will know when the patch was place and by whom. Locations of patches should always be changed each time a new patch is administered as to not damage or irritate the skin.

Inhalation therapy includes drugs that are absorbed through the mucus membranes of the respiratory tract. This would include metered dose inhalers and aerosol breathing treatments. Before administering any type of inhalation therapy the nurse should do a full respiratory assessment.

Parenteral medication administration is by means of puncturing the skin or mucus membrane to administer medication. Parenteral medication administration covers injections: IM, sub-q, ID and IV. This method is used when your patient is NPO (unable to have anything by mouth), unable to swallow or if the medication could not be absorbed by means of the GI tract.

The advantages of parenteral administration are that there is a rapid onset of medication over the oral route. Smaller doses of medication are needed for the achieved results. Some of the disadvantages of parenteral feeding would be duration of medication working are diminished, doses must be exact, and proper administering of injections must be done properly to avoid bruising of the skin or introducing infection.

Intramuscular Injections (IM) is an injection into the muscle; this technique is used because absorption of medication is quicker. Z track method is used when a medication can cause irritation to the skin or discoloring. This injection is injected deep into the muscle. Sub-Q injections are injected into the skin. This is most common area for diabetics to receive their insulin.

Proper techniques need to be followed when proving your patient with any type of medication administration but even more caution should be applied to parenteral medications. As a nurse if you feel a medication the doctor order is too high or does not look right it is up to you to question the order with the doctor. An effective and caring nurse is the patient's advocate and is the eyes and ears for the doctor.