Epi - pen training/liability

[Anonymous]

I am nanny to a 2 yo charge with multiple food allergies. We have been able to avoid adverse reactions with prevention techniques, like not having any allergens in the house. So I have never administered the epi-pen. Now that she is getting older and more independent I feel the risk is higher. Just past week she licked a discarded candy wrapper left on the floor at Gymboree.

I would like to find training for epi-pen administration here in the DC area. I am also interested to hear from anyone familiar with the liability side of it. Would it be greater liability to refuse a child life saving medication then to give it and possibly injure the child or not have given it fast enough?

[Anonymous]

I nannied a kid with severe allergies and had to use an epipen twice. It's really not that difficult. I find that it'll be rather hard to injure the child with it - unless you jab it into her eye...

If you're so unsure about using it, talk it over with the parents. If I were a parent and my nanny considered not giving my child an epipen when the situation called for it, I would be extremely concerned.

[Anonymous]

The parents should find you some training. Just tell them.

[Anonymous]

Just watch a couple of Youtube videos on it. It's not like you're performing a spinal tap and have to get the needle between two vertebrae.

[Anonymous]

The American Red Cross has online classes that also give you a certificate, you could go to a local hospital

[Anonymous]

http://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/course-dowbt000000000011096

[Anonymous]

Training? The things are designed to be used by children and are basically idiot-proof. You jam it into the thigh and count. There is no way you can mess up the dosage and unless, like PP noted, you poke a kid in the eye or chest with it, you can't really do it wrong.
I'd be really worried about your first aid skills in general, as your MB, if you expressed the need for formal training on this basic task.

[Anonymous]

I would never, ever want to be responsible for a child that wasn't mine with such medical issues. Your liability isn't just with the epipen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Training? The things are designed to be used by children and are basically idiot-proof. You jam it into the thigh and count. There is no way you can mess up the dosage and unless, like PP noted, you poke a kid in the eye or chest with it, you can't really do it wrong.
I'd be really worried about your first aid skills in general, as your MB, if you expressed the need for formal training on this basic task.

You can accidentally use the wrong end though. I know a mom who did that and nearly had to go to the ER because of it. Why are you being so rude to the OP? Good for her for wanting training in order to do it properly!

[Anonymous]

OP here. From what I understand, many schools and daycare facilities are not willing to administer the epi-pen. The issue is liability. Those that do, or at least the ones I found policies for online, all require formal training. Many ambulances do not carry epi-pens either, so a person calling 911 would have to indicate that they are calling about an allergic reaction to ensure the EMT had one on arrival. So, although I don't think the pen would be very difficult to use, I am hesitant to assume I know more then he schools, daycares, and emergency response teams who decline to administer epi-pen. If anyone has been employed one of the aforementioned facilities and knows a bit about the risks, I would be glad to hear it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am nanny to a 2 yo charge with multiple food allergies. We have been able to avoid adverse reactions with prevention techniques, like not having any allergens in the house. So I have never administered the epi-pen. Now that she is getting older and more independent I feel the risk is higher. Just past week she licked a discarded candy wrapper left on the floor at Gymboree.

I would like to find training for epi-pen administration here in the DC area. I am also interested to hear from anyone familiar with the liability side of it. Would it be greater liability to refuse a child life saving medication then to give it and possibly injure the child or not have given it fast enough?

There are instructions and pictures on the pen. You should be able to follow them. If that is too daunting I would consider just quitting.

[Anonymous]

Please, please just tell me that you don't want to work with my kid who has allergies and let me move on and you move on to a job with a "normal" kid. This is so much more trouble than it's worth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please, please just tell me that you don't want to work with my kid who has allergies and let me move on and you move on to a job with a "normal" kid. This is so much more trouble than it's worth.

Oh stop with your drama.

[Anonymous]

I used to be a substitute teacher, and part of my training for that included epi-pens. The epi-pen "training" was literally just watching a few YouTube videos and discussing them a bit as a group. Nothing too fancy.

[Anonymous]

Former EMT here, ambulances do not have epipens. They are prescribed for a specific person, OP, you should be able to get a tester to practice with or use a real one that is expired and object it into an orange.