Medicine Cup and Medicine Bottle of Ruth Hunter '51

This medicine cup and glass medicine bottle were used by Ruth Hunter, who graduated from the Brokaw School of Nursing in 1951. These items tell the story of how medication administration has changed significantly over the years.

Ruth Hunter attended the Brokaw School of Nursing and graduated in 1951. During her time, she practiced skills with medications as we still do today. However, there is a drastic difference in how she practiced during her time at Brokaw versus how we practice in nursing school today.
This medicine cup and bottle were reusable items used to store, administer, and dispense liquid medications. The medicine cup has measurements on the inside to measure out liquid medications, and the glass bottle has measurements on the outside for medication measurement as well. These items are from her personal kit and are ones that would likely never be considered safe to use in practice today. Today, we make use of disposable medicine cups and bottles that are never to be reused for the same patient, let alone several different patients. Medication safety regulations have changed greatly over the years, and there are now several precautions we must take to ensure safe medication administration.
Today, there are six rights to medication administration that are one of the first things we learn when it comes to medication. These include right dose, right route, right time, right medication, right patient, and right documentation. These items demonstrate how much medication administration has changed and how many safety measures have been added over the years.