Pediatric High-Alert Medications
Jason Corcoran, PharmD, BCPS; Jill Duncan, RN, MS, MPH
Product Description:
High-alert medication safe practices for pediatrics!
According to the Institute of Medicine, adverse drug events occur in 6%–10% of all hospitalized patients. When these adverse events involve high-risk medications, patients are at a greater risk of suffering serious harm. And the consequence of an error with these medications is far more devastating for children.
Train your pediatric nurses to protect your youngest patients with the help of Pediatric High-Alert Medications: Evidence-Based Safe Practices for Nursing Professionals. This book provides the latest evidence-based information to guide staff members as they use high-risk medications and outlines the proper steps that need to be taken when administering these drugs to children.
Inside you’ll find pediatric-specific information about:
- Drug safety principles
- Administration and monitoring requirements
- Patient and family education
- Creative ways to ensure compliance
Pediatric-specific training for safe medication handling
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) describes high-alert medications as those that are most likely to cause significant harm to patients, even when used as intended. Pediatric nurses understand that children are not adults, and when it comes to high-risk medications, their needs are unique.
Pediatric High-Alert Medications: Evidence-Based Safe Practices for Nursing Professionals focuses on the safety issues and challenges presented to nurses when dealing with high-hazard medications and pediatrics. It provides detailed information and strategies for dealing with some of the most challenging pediatric drugs, with chapters dedicated to pain relief, paralytics, and chemotherapy drugs.
Filled with case studies, Pediatric High-Alert Medications is the perfect resource for self-study or staff education. It discusses the general principles of medication for pediatrics, and explains which medications are high-alert for pediatrics.
Meet Joint Commission requirements and IHI guidelines for safe administration of high-risk medications
High-alert medications are an ongoing safety issue, and The Joint Commission requires facilities to train their staff on this issue. Improving the safety of high-alert medications is also part of the IHI’s patient safety guidelines.
With the help of Pediatric High-Alert Medications, you can raise the standard of professional practice at your facility and maintain compliance.
Take a look at the table of contents:
Chapter 1: What makes pediatric patients different?
Chapter 2: General pediatric medication safety principles
Chapter 3: Technology that improves safety practices
Chapter 4: Safely preparing, dispensing, and administering medication to kids of all ages
Chapter 5: Anticoagulation medication
Chapter 6: Chemotherapy agents
Chapter 7: Concentrated electrolytes
Chapter 8: Cardiovascular medications
Chapter 9: Insulin and concentrated dextrose
Chapter 10: Neuromuscular blocking agents
Chapter 11: Pediatric pain and sedation medications
Concise and easy to read, Pediatric High-Alert Medications drills right down to the information you need to improve your practice and protect your pediatric population—order your copy today!
Earn continuing education credits!

HCPro is accredited as a provider of continuing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center Commission on Accreditation.
This educational activity for 3 nursing contact hours is provided by HCPro, Inc.
Learning objectives:
- Identify the key differences in providing pharmaceutical care to pediatric patients
- Explain the special considerations necessary when formulating adult dosage forms for pediatric administration
- Identify the “six rights” of safe pediatric high-alert medication administration
- Describe the role that The Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goals play in pediatric high-alert medication safety initiatives
- Identify the role that error reporting plays in improving pediatric high-alert medication safety
- Describe the role technology plays in pediatric high-alert medication safety
- Identify at least two pharmacy processes that can improve pediatric high-alert medication safety
- Illustrate child-friendly and developmentally friendly techniques that are useful when administering medications to children ranging in age from infancy through adolescence
For a complete list of learning objectives, please click here.
About the authors
Jill Duncan, RN, MS, MPH, is the clinical nurse specialist for the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children in Falls Church, VA. She has more than 14 years of pediatric-related experience in a variety of acute care settings, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Jason Corcoran, PharmD, BCPS, is the clinical pharmacy specialist at Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children in Falls Church, VA. He has more than 10 years of pharmacy work experience, including the past five years in practice as a pediatric pharmacist.
Faculty Disclosure Statement: HCPro, Inc., has confirmed that none of the faculty/presenters or contributors has any relevant financial relationships to disclose related to the content of this educational activity.
Product Types : Departments :
