| Course | D119 Pediatric Primary Care for the Advanced Practice Nurse |
|---|---|
| Task | Task 2 |
| Paper type | Pediatric weight-based treatment plan |
| Length | About 900 words, 3 pages |
| Format | APA 7 |
| School | Western Governors University (WGU) |
| Program | MSN Family Nurse Practitioner |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for D119 Task 2
Weight-Based Treatment Plan for Mild Viral Croup: A Toddler of 26 Months at 12.6 kg
Student Name
Leavitt School of Health, Western Governors University
D119: Pediatric Primary Care for the Advanced Practice Nurse, Task 2
Course Instructor
Month Day, Year
Weight-Based Treatment Plan for Mild Viral Croup: A Toddler of 26 Months at 12.6 kg
Diagnosis, Weight and Goal
Diagnosis: mild viral croup (Westley score 1). Weight: 12.6 kg, measured today on the clinic scale without clothing or diaper. Goal: resolution of stridor with agitation within 48 hours, no stridor at rest at any point and no emergency visit, with the child drinking normally throughout.
Pharmacologic Treatment With Calculations
Dexamethasone, one dose, given orally in the clinic today. A single dose of a glucocorticoid improves croup symptoms within hours, with the effect lasting at least 24 hours, and reduces return visits (Gates et al., 2018); oral dexamethasone is recommended for all children with croup, including mild cases (Bjornson & Johnson, 2013).
Calculation: 0.6 mg/kg x 12.6 kg = 7.56 mg, rounded to 7.6 mg (below the 16 mg maximum). Product: dexamethasone oral solution 1 mg/mL. Volume: 7.6 mg / 1 mg/mL = 7.6 mL, measured in a 10 mL oral syringe and given by the nurse in clinic with the father watching. If he vomits within 30 minutes, the dose will be repeated once.
Acetaminophen for fever or discomfort, as needed. Calculation: 15 mg/kg x 12.6 kg = 189 mg per dose. Product: children's acetaminophen liquid 160 mg/5 mL (32 mg/mL). Volume: 189 mg / 32 mg/mL = 5.9 mL, rounded down to 5.8 mL for easier measuring on the 10 mL syringe marked in 0.2 mL steps (185.6 mg, 14.7 mg/kg). May repeat after 4 to 6 hours if needed; maximum five doses in any 24-hour period.
Ibuprofen as an alternative for fever, as needed. Calculation: 10 mg/kg x 12.6 kg = 126 mg per dose. Product: children's ibuprofen 100 mg/5 mL (20 mg/mL). Volume: 126 mg / 20 mg/mL = 6.3 mL, rounded down to 6.2 mL (124 mg). May repeat after 6 to 8 hours if needed, up to four doses a day, given with food or milk.
Not prescribed: antibiotics, because croup is viral; over-the-counter cough and cold medicines, which should not be given to children younger than 4 (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2018); and nebulized epinephrine, which is reserved for moderate to severe croup with stridor at rest.
Non-Pharmacologic Care
Keep him calm, because crying makes the airway noise worse; hold him upright on a lap and use quiet distraction such as a favorite book or show. Offer frequent small drinks. Cool night air or an open freezer door may ease symptoms for some children, but steam from a hot shower is not proven to help and carries a burn risk, so it should not be used. Someone should sleep in the same room tonight so the child can be heard. He can return to child care when he has had no fever for 24 hours without fever medicine and is eating and drinking normally.
Caregiver Education
What is happening: a cold virus has made the inside of his windpipe swollen just below the voice box. That is what makes the barking cough and the squeaky sound when he breathes in, especially when he cries. It usually improves over two to three days and is often worse at night.
What we gave him today: one dose of a steroid medicine that brings down the swelling. He does not need more doses at home.
At home: use the acetaminophen or ibuprofen doses on the written sheet with the syringe we gave you, not a kitchen spoon. Write down the time of each dose.
Call the clinic or after-hours line if the noisy breathing lasts more than three days, the fever lasts more than three days, or he is drinking much less than usual.
Call 911 or go to the emergency department right away if he makes the squeaky breathing noise while calm and resting, if the skin between his ribs or at the base of his neck pulls in with each breath, if he is drooling or cannot swallow, if his lips look blue or gray, or if he is very sleepy and hard to wake.
Follow-Up
A nurse will phone the father tomorrow morning to ask about the night, breathing noise at rest, fever and drinking. No routine office follow-up is needed if he improves. If he returns, he will be weighed again and doses recalculated. His next well-child visit, at 30 months, is already scheduled.
Referral Criteria
Refer to the emergency department for stridor at rest, retractions, oxygen saturation below 92%, signs of dehydration or any of the danger signs above, since moderate or severe croup may need nebulized epinephrine and observation (Bjornson & Johnson, 2013). Refer to pediatric otolaryngology if croup recurs frequently, begins before 6 months of age or does not follow the usual course, since these features can point to an underlying airway abnormality.
Practical Considerations
The father prefers written instructions and received a sheet with the doses written in milliliters for his own syringe, not in teaspoons. The clinic supplied a 10 mL oral syringe marked in 0.2 mL steps. The family has both fever medicines at home and the same concentrations were confirmed by checking the bottles he photographed on his phone. The after-hours number is written on the sheet.
References
Bjornson, C. L., & Johnson, D. W. (2013). Croup in children. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 185(15), 1317-1323. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.121645
Gates, A., Gates, M., Vandermeer, B., Johnson, C., Hartling, L., Johnson, D. W., & Klassen, T. P. (2018). Glucocorticoids for croup in children. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2018(8), CD001955. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD001955.pub4
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2018). Use caution when giving cough and cold products to kids. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/special-features/use-caution-when-giving-cough-and-cold-products-kids
What the D119 Task 2 instructions ask
The second D119 task asks you to write a treatment plan for the pediatric case, with doses calculated from the child's weight. You will usually state the diagnosis and weight, calculate the medication, add supportive care, teach the caregiver, schedule the next contact and define when to send the child elsewhere. Evaluators look for calculations shown in full, with the dose per kilogram, the total dose, the formulation and the volume, checked against maximum doses. They also look for education a caregiver could follow at home and criteria that tell the family exactly when to seek emergency care. An error in a pediatric dose is serious, so evaluators check the arithmetic closely.
How this D119 Task 2 example is built
The plan opens by stating the weight, how it was measured and the goal. The pharmacologic section shows each step of the dose calculation and explains why a single dose of an oral glucocorticoid is recommended, citing a systematic review. Non-drug care focuses on keeping the child calm and hydrated. Education is written to the father in plain words and includes danger signs. Follow-up is a phone call rather than a visit, matched to mild severity. Referral criteria are specific, such as stridor at rest or low oxygen saturation. The practical section addresses dosing tools and written instructions, reducing the chance of errors at home. Every number in the plan can be traced back to the 12.6 kg weight recorded at the start.
Where the D119 Task 2 rubric puts the marks
D119 Task 2 aspects are each rated competent, approaching competence or not evident. A pharmacologic aspect checks that the drug choice is evidence-based and the calculation correct, with formulation and volume. A non-pharmacologic aspect looks for supportive care suited to the age. An education aspect wants clear caregiver teaching with danger signs. Follow-up and referral aspects ask for specific timing and criteria. A practical aspect rewards attention to dosing tools and family circumstances. Evaluators verify calculations against weight and maximum doses and expect current pediatric sources. Evaluators also look for the calculation to be repeated in the caregiver instructions in plain units, so the dose the family gives at home matches the dose in the plan. A referral list with measurable thresholds, such as oxygen saturation, earns credit.
D119 Task 2 help: what sends it back
Weight-based plans come back most often because calculations are incomplete. Show dose per kilogram, total dose, maximum, formulation and the volume in milliliters. Second, doses are given in teaspoons, which invites errors. Use milliliters and an oral syringe. Third, education omits danger signs. List them in plain words. Fourth, referral criteria are vague, such as worsening symptoms. Name specific signs. Finally, check the evidence for every treatment. Some remedies caregivers ask about, such as humidified air, have little support, and the plan should say so kindly rather than recommend them. Have a colleague recheck every dose.
Get a D119 Task 2 example written to your instructions
Send the D119 Task 2 instructions and the rubric aspects your course of study specifies, together with the case, the age and any weight you were given. We write a custom example to those aspects, with the dosing arithmetic shown and the caregiver education written properly, and return it in 24-48h. The first custom sample is free.
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D119 Task 2 questions, answered
How is this different from the pediatric analysis task?
The analytic half reasons from age, growth and presentation toward an assessment. This half assumes that assessment and produces the treatment, meaning a weight, a calculation, a measurable volume, caregiver instruction and a scheduled return. The reasoning already done should occupy a sentence here, not a section, or the applied aspects run short of space.
Where should dosing references come from?
A current pediatric dosing reference or the manufacturer prescribing information, cited at the point of use. Do not carry doses from memory or from an older note, since pediatric recommendations are revised and the maximum matters as much as the calculation. Any dose in an example belongs to a constructed case and is not direction for treating a real child.
Can I base this on a child from my clinical site?
Only if your instructions allow it, and only after every identifier is gone. Building the case yourself is usually easier, since you can set a weight and an age that make the calculation meaningful. Real encounter records and the hours attached to them are never ours to write, and they stay in your own practicum file.
Where should D119 dosing references come from?
Current pediatric references and guidelines, checked for dose per kilogram and maximum dose. The sample cites a systematic review for glucocorticoids and FDA guidance on dosing devices.
Where can I find a free D119 Task 2 sample paper?
The complete treatment plan, with every calculation, appears on this page with notes. Send your D119 task and case, and your first custom plan is prepared free.