Getting someone else's med at school

[andrewsmom]

I was at my son's school the other day filling in for a teacher and the nurse comes up to me and tells me that they gave my son someone else's med and his med to another child. Both have the name Andrew. Just by luck they both were taking 10 mg of ritalin only his was genearic and my son's wasn't. I was ok with it because they were the same thing really except genearic does not work for my son. Later on though I kept thinking if I had to give meds out I would be double checking to make sure I had the right child. What do you guys think?

[Mayleng]

Oh My God! This is a scary thought. What if one pill was totally different then the other, like if some child needed it for seizures etc. I would hope they double check the last name and everything before giving the meds out. You better make sure they have a system in place NOW to make sure this never happens again. I am going to talk to my school nurse about this.

[d]

ohmygosh - that is so dangerous and alarming.

My dd does 1x/day before school so the school nurse is not involved.

If my dd was taking meds at school after reading your post, I'd make for damn sure she knew the name of, strength and absolutely knew EXACTLY what her pills looked like (color, shape, etc.)

[JulieinSC]

It sounds like your school needs to get better proceedures in place as far as dispensing meds. The nurse can't be so casual about dispensing prescription drugs!

My son's elementary school is absolutely fanatical about documenting meds. Any child who has meds given out must have an individual sheet on file, complete with the form filled about documenting the type of drug, doctor name, etc. When a parent brings in the meds, the nurse has to count to verify the number and type of meds. Nurse and parent must initial and date this log. Every time the student gets his meds the student must initial the date and time the dose is given. A new prescription bottle must be brought in with each new dose of meds.

Needless to say, this was a big pain to do every 30 days with the Ritalin, but it was a good way to make sure my child was getting his own meds!

[chaknine]

This is awful!!!!! I would be so upset. This could of been very serious. When Brenna used to take her meds at school before we swithced to the ritalin la they asked her her name 2x, had her look at the name on the bottle and then watched her take it. This should not of happened and I would make sure it does not happen again. You need to go to administration and see what the policy is and if they do not have one, one needs to be put in place for proper dispensing of medication. I just feel terrible for you.
Shelli

[jwm]

My 6 year old non- ADDer, goes every day to the nurse to take propranolol (for migraines). She only gives medication to one child at a time from start to finish ex:
asks the child's name, gives the medication, puts the bottle away, signs the child out on the medication log, and sends that child back to class, then she starts all over with the next child. Propranolol lowers the blood pressure. Can you imagine if another child got this medication!! My 9 year old with ADD inattentive, has to go once in awhile to get a lactaid tablet if he is having lunch with cheese or too much dairy, and the nurse follows the same procedure. We have to bring new prescription bottles for each medication and supply, she counts them out in front of us, we have to sign a form, then she signs a form etc etc. Very scary to think of what could happen.

[swmom]

andrewsmom -

That is a very serious matter. The nurse seems to be much too casual about giving out medication. Certain medications given to the wrong child can be fatal. I would notify the principal immediately.

[andrewsmom]

Julie our school has the same procedure as yours. In fact when my son was in the office to take his med he was the only one there at that time. The two Andrews were not even there at the same time. We do not have a full time nurse at our school she was just there the day it happened. The secretary gives out the meds. But the nurse acted like it was no big deal in fact she made the comment... "This doesn't happen very often." My son only has a couple more days at this school. He will not be there next year.

[Babs]

"This doesn't happen very often"? I think you should report this to the principal. Once is too much and it sounds like it has happened before. The kids aren't allowed to medicate themselves to prevent meds from being taken by someone they aren't intended for, and this happens?

It can't be that hard to check a child's first and last names. In our very small school the children have ID tags with their name, picture and an ID number. These should all be checked and compared to the med every time!