| Course | NR 328 Pediatric Nursing |
|---|---|
| Week | 7 |
| Paper type | Family teaching handout |
| Length | About 1,120 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Chamberlain University |
| Program | BSN (pre-licensure) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NR 328 Week 7
Family Teaching Handout: Ear Drops for a Draining Ear Tube in a 3-Year-Old, One Sheet With a Half for Her Father and a Half for Her
Student Name
College of Nursing, Chamberlain University
NR 328: Pediatric Nursing
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Family Teaching Handout: Ear Drops for a Draining Ear Tube in a 3-Year-Old, One Sheet With a Half for Her Father and a Half for Her
The Family and the Task
Harper is 3 years and 4 months old and had ear tubes placed in both ears four months ago after repeated ear infections; details have been changed. Since yesterday, yellow fluid has been draining from her right ear, with no fever and no pain behind the ear. Her pediatric nurse practitioner has prescribed ciprofloxacin and dexamethasone ear drops, 4 drops in the right ear twice a day for 7 days, and no oral antibiotic. That plan follows the national tube guideline, which recommends topical antibiotic drops only, without oral antibiotics, for uncomplicated acute drainage from a tube (Rosenfeld et al., 2022).
Her father will give the drops. Harper will need to lie still on her side for several minutes twice a day, which is the hard part at 3. The handout below is one sheet, divided in two: instruction for her father, and a small doing part for Harper, drawn rather than written because she cannot read.
The Adult's Half, as Printed
Harper's ear drops: right ear only.
What: ciprofloxacin and dexamethasone ear drops, in the small white dropper bottle.
How much and when: 4 drops in the RIGHT ear, morning and bedtime, for 7 days. Last dose: the evening of the date written on the bottle.
Before: warm the bottle in your closed hand for 1 to 2 minutes. Cold drops can make a child dizzy. Wipe away any fluid at the opening of the ear with a clean tissue. Do not push anything into the ear.
Giving the drops: Harper lies on her left side, right ear up. Put 4 drops into the ear without letting the dropper touch it. Then press gently on the small flap of skin in front of the ear opening 4 or 5 times, which helps push the drops through the tube.
After: she stays on her side for 3 to 5 minutes. A cotton ball may be placed loosely at the opening when she sits up.
Keep water out of the draining ear during the 7 days: a cotton ball with petroleum jelly at bath time, no swimming.
Call the office the same day if: the ear is still draining after 7 days of drops; she has a fever of 102 F or higher; the skin behind or around the ear becomes red, swollen or painful; the drainage is bloody; or she seems very unwell.
Office: the number printed at the bottom of this sheet, and the after-hours line.
The Child's Half, as Printed
Harper's ear medicine time (for age 3: four pictures, one word each; her father points to each picture as it happens).
Picture 1, Hold: Harper holding the bottle in both hands to make it warm. Word: "Warm."
Picture 2, Lie down: Harper lying on her side with her bunny, ear facing up. Word: "Side."
Picture 3, Drops: a tiny drop falling. Word: "Drip."
Picture 4, Stay still: Harper and her bunny on their sides, with five small stars to color in as her father counts. Word: "Stars."
The stars are the timer. Her father counts slowly to 60 for each star, and she colors in one star each time, so five stars is five minutes. A new sheet of stars is used each time.
Why the Sheet Is Split This Way
The split follows her age. At 3, Harper cannot read, does not understand why medicine goes in an ear, and cannot hold still for five minutes just because she is told to. What she can do is follow a short sequence of pictures she recognizes and take part in the task, which is why the child's half gives her two jobs, warming the bottle and coloring the stars, rather than a sentence telling her to be good. Holding the warm bottle also turns the step most likely to be skipped into her task. For a child of 6 or 7, the same half would be written in short sentences she could read herself, and the count could be hers to do. For a teenager, the split would disappear and the sheet would be written to her directly.
The adult's half is kept to short plain sentences a tired parent can follow at 2100, in the order the task happens, with the reasons for the two steps families most often leave out, warming the drops and pressing on the flap of skin, stated in a few words beside them.
What the Adult Says When Asked Why
At 3, Harper will ask why. The sheet gives her father one answer to use, the same every time: "The drops help the sore inside your ear get better. Lying still lets them go all the way in." It is short, true and does not mention germs or doctors, which can frighten a young child. If she asks why she can't swim, the answer is: "Just for this week, so the water doesn't bother your sore ear."
What Was Left Off the Sheet
Three things were deliberately left off, because a sheet that tries to teach everything is read by nobody. How ear tubes work was explained in the room with a drawing and not printed, since her father needs to act on the sheet, not study it. The fact that tubes usually fall out on their own was left for the follow-up visit, when it is more likely to matter. And the list of every possible side effect of the drops was reduced to the reasons to call, since the drops rarely cause problems and a long list of unlikely effects would bury the few signs that do need a phone call. Her father was told that the pharmacist's leaflet in the bag has the full list if he wants it.
Checking the Teaching
Before they left, her father gave the first dose in the clinic, using the sheet, while I watched. He warmed the bottle in Harper's hands, laid her on her left side, gave 4 drops without the dropper touching the ear and pressed the flap of skin, then counted the stars with her. She stayed on her side for all five. He then told me, without the sheet, the three reasons he would call the office. The teaching was recorded as demonstrated and explained back, not as given.
References
Rosenfeld, R. M., Tunkel, D. E., Schwartz, S. R., Anne, S., Bishop, C. E., Chelius, D. C., Hackell, J., Hunter, L. L., Keppel, K. L., Kim, A. H., Kim, T. W., Levine, J. M., Maksimoski, M. T., Moore, D. J., Preciado, D. A., Raol, N. P., Vaughan, W. K., Walker, E. A., & Monjur, T. M. (2022). Clinical practice guideline: Tympanostomy tubes in children (update). Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, 166(1, Suppl.), S1-S55. https://doi.org/10.1177/01945998211065662
What the NR 328 Week 7 assignment asks for
Week 7 has you design a teaching tool for a child and family and explain how it fits the child's age. Graders look for the learning needs of the family, content that is accurate and clear, a section suited to the child's developmental stage, a rationale for your choices, an evaluation method and references in APA. Write the adult's part in short steps in the order the task happens. Include the reasons for steps families tend to skip. Give the child a part made of things to do, at the right reading level, which at 3 means pictures. Explain what you left out. Evaluate with a return demonstration rather than a question.
How the NR 328 Week 7 example is put together
The opening section describes Harper's tubes, the right ear drainage since yesterday and who will give the drops. The adult's half appears as printed: ciprofloxacin and dexamethasone, 4 drops in the right ear twice a day for 7 days, warm the bottle, lie her on her left side, press the flap of skin, stay on her side for 3 to 5 minutes, keep water out, and call for set reasons. The child's half shows four pictures with one word each and five stars, each colored after a count to 60. The rationale section ties the split to what a 3-year-old can do. A scripted answer to "why" follows. The closing records the father giving the first dose in clinic.
NR 328 Week 7 rubric: what full points look like
Teaching tool rubrics generally score assessment of learners, accuracy and clarity of content, developmental appropriateness, rationale, evaluation and use of evidence with APA. Developmental appropriateness weighs heavily, and the child's picture half earns it by giving her four actions and a timer she controls. Content is credited for exact drug, dose, timing, technique and call reasons, matched to Rosenfeld and colleagues. Clarity scores because the adult's steps are short and in order. The rationale row is met by the section explaining the split and the decisions about what to leave off. Evaluation earns full credit through a return demonstration in clinic. A single, honest answer to the child's question shows the age-appropriate communication graders look for.
Common NR 328 Week 7 mistakes, and how to avoid them
The most expensive failure on this handout is writing one page for one reader, with the adult's instructions complete and the child's part reduced to "be good." A second is a child's section written in words she cannot read. Students also skip the reasons for warming the drops and pressing the flap of skin, the two steps families most often leave out. Long explanations of how ear tubes work make the sheet too long to use at 2100. Telling a child something will not hurt when it might costs trust. Evaluation by asking "any questions?" earns little. If your teaching topic or child's age is different, tell us and an NR 328 handout can be built with an adult half and a child half.
Get a NR 328 Week 7 example written to your instructions
Send the Week 7 instructions and the age of the child the sheet is for, and a custom handout is written and returned inside 24-48h with the first one free. If your classroom sets a reading level, a page limit or a required rationale document, include those and the example is built to fit inside them.
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NR 328 Week 7 questions, answered
How young is too young for a child's section?
No age has nothing on it, only ages where the content stops being words. A toddler's part can be a row of pictures showing what happens in what order, which works because it takes the surprise out. From about school age the section can carry short written lines. What fails is a sheet jumping from nothing to full sentences with no thought about which side of that line the child sits.
What if the child cannot do their part at all?
Then the sheet says so and hands the task back to the adult explicitly, which is a finding rather than a gap. A child with a developmental delay, a child who is unwell, a child simply too young: each changes who holds the device, and writing the reason down stops the next reader assuming the split was an oversight. Instructors read that as assessment rather than as a shortcut taken.
Is it acceptable to tell a child something will not hurt?
Not if it might, and this is marked more often than students expect. A child told a thing will not hurt and then finding that it does has learned that the adult explaining it cannot be relied on, which costs every instruction after it. The safer construction names what it will feel like, says how long that lasts, and gives the child something to do while it happens.
Where can I find a free NR 328 Week 7 sample paper?
The complete Week 7 handout for Harper's ear drops, both printed halves, the reasons for the split, what was left off and the return demonstration, is on this page with the guideline reference.
How does the NR 328 Week 7 handout time the five minutes on her side?
With five stars to color. Her father counts slowly to 60 for each star and she colors one in, so the fifth star marks five minutes, and a fresh sheet is used each dose.