The nurse approaches a group of school-age patients to administer medication to Sam Hart. What should the nurse do to identify the correct child?

A) Ask the group, "Who is Sam Hart?"
B) Call out to the group, "Sam Hart?"
C) Ask each child, "What's your name?"
D) Check the patient's identification name band

The child must be correctly identified before the administration of any medication. Children are not totally reliable in giving correct names on request; the identification bracelet should always be checked. Asking children or the group for names is not an acceptable way to identify a child. Older children may exchange places, give an erroneous name, or choose not to respond to their name as a joke.