You are a resident in the emergency department. An irate parent comes to you furious because the social worker has been asking him about striking his child. The child is a 5 -year-old boy who has been in the emergency department four times this year with several episodes of trauma that did not seem related. Today, the child is brought in with a child complaint of "slipping into a hot bathtub" with a burn wound on his legs. The parent threatens to sue you and says "How dare you think that about me? I love my son!"
What should you do?
a. Give reassurance to the parents and treat the patient's injury appropriately.
b. Ask risk management to evaluate the case.
c. Admit the child to remove him from the possibly dangerous environment.
d. Call the police.
e. Ask the father yourself if there has been any abuse.
f. Speak to the wife privately about possible episodes of abuse.
g. Explain to the parents that the next time this happens you will have to call child protective services.
h. Report the family to child protective services.
i. Give the parents a referral to a family therapist they can see with the child the following week.