Author Question: The nurse needs to administer a medication to a preschool-age child. The medication is only ... (Read 64 times)

rayancarla1 · **on:** Jun 28, 2018

The nurse needs to administer a medication to a preschool-age child. The medication is only available in tablet form. Which action by the nurse is the most appropriate?

1. Place the tablet on the child's tongue and give the child a drink of water.
2. Break the tablet in small pieces and ask the child to swallow the pieces one by one.
3. Crush the tablet and mix it in a teaspoon of applesauce.
4. Crush the table and mix it in a cup of juice.

Question 2

The nurse is working with a hospitalized preschool-age child. The nurse is planning activities to reduce anxiety in this child. Which action by the nurse is the most appropriate?

1. Provide the child with a doll and safe medical equipment.
2. Read a story to the child.
3. Use an anatomically correct doll to teach the child about the illness.
4. Talk to the child about the hospitalization.

jaaaaaaa · **Reply #1 on:** Jun 28, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Correct Answer: 3
Rationale: A 4-year-old is not mature enough to swallow a pill or pieces of a pill. The medication should be crushed and mixed with a very small amount of food, not juice.

Answer to Question 2

Correct Answer: 1
Rationale: Therapeutic play is a means of anxiety reduction in the hospitalized child. Allowing the child to play with safe medical equipment is an age-appropriate method through which the child can express her feelings, thereby reducing anxiety. Anatomically correct dolls are not age appropriate. Reading a story to the child does not allow for expression of feelings. Talking to the child may be beneficial, but it does not allow for active release of frustration and anxiety as active play does.