A young mother brings her 6-month-old infant to the emergency department with a 3-day history of fevers, congestion, and increased irritability at night. The nurse practitioner diagnoses an acute otitis media (ear infection) and prescribes an oral antibiotic and acetaminophen (Tylenol) every 4 hours for pain and fever. The young mother appears weepy and concerned. When the nurse asks her why, she says, “Medications frighten me. When I give any of my children medications, I worry that I will make an error. There is so much that can go wrong.”

A young mother brings her 6-month-old infant to the emergency department with a 3-day history of fevers, congestion, and increased irritability at night. The nurse practitioner diagnoses an acute otitis media (ear infection) and prescribes an oral antibiotic and acetaminophen (Tylenol) every 4 hours for pain and fever. The young mother appears weepy and concerned. When the nurse asks her why, she says, “Medications frighten me. When I give any of my children medications, I worry that I will make an error. There is so much that can go wrong.”

This activity contains 2 questions:

How would you respond to this mother’s concern?
Create a list of strategies that parents can use to prevent medication errors.

Last Completed Projects