Child care employees have a monumental role in the care and support of children. While we often consider academic outcomes and developmental growth as the basis of this care, medication administration is a critical component of ongoing and essential care of children. In Maryland, child care employees must have specific credentials in order to administer medication to children. This credential is referred to as the 6 hour Medication Administration Training and it provides a comprehensive look at the process, procedures, and protocols to follow when working with children that require medication.
Children of all ages can have a large variety of medical conditions, illnesses, and diseases that can include mental health conditions, chronic health problems, allergies, viruses, infections, and much more. Under the ADA, any child that comes to a child care facility has the right to quality care regardless of health conditions as long as that facility is able to make reasonable accommodations for the care of the child. A reasonable accommodation for a child requiring medication would be training staff in Medication Administration. Once staff have been trained in Medication Administration, they are able to administer medications to children in either an ongoing capacity or as needed as long as they are following the doctors and/or parents' written instructions. Having staff trained in Medication Administration allows child care providers to include a wider range of children in their facility and include those children who may not otherwise be able to participate with their peers. Caring for children with health conditions such as severe allergies, asthma, and diabetes, can be intimidating and sometimes scary. Through the training you will be provided with a comprehensive manual that you will be able to reference time and again as you work with children. You will learn how to develop an allergy action plan for children with allergies and how to administer an EPI-pen and inhalers. In addition, the training covers administration of over the counter medications and medications that need to be administered temporarily. Make sure you are prepared to care for all children by becoming Medication Administration Trained, you could literally save a life.
