| | | | | set the goals and objectives to guide the learning |
| Patient education or client health education can be | | | | interventions. When these goals and objectives are |
| described as a learning relationship entered into by | | | | stated, the impact of teaching will not be optimized. |
| the nurse and client. The content and learning | | | | With ensuring effective patient education the nurse |
| activities are directed toward providing knowledge or | | | | needs to first assess the patient's ability to learn. The |
| skills needed to meet specific health care needs. | | | | nurse should therefore know what the patient needs |
| Patient education is an important function and | | | | to learn and make an assessment as to the need for |
| responsibility for nurses at all levels of care. Nurses | | | | the health education process with an individual, family |
| spend an enormous time caring for patients but in | | | | or group. For your patient education to be effective, |
| many instances minimal time in helping patients | | | | nurses must use methods that ensure that your |
| understand the causes of their health problem, | | | | patients' comprehension of the material and increase |
| measures to prevent complications from diseases and | | | | their compliance. When the educational process is |
| ways to maintain optimal health. Should nurses | | | | well- designed and clear objectives and goals are |
| therefore become more proactive in the delivery of | | | | stated, successful patient education is achieved. Goals |
| patient education? Patient education can be defined | | | | are the desired outcomes of learning, while |
| as any communication between patient and | | | | objectives detail the behaviors that will be performed |
| health-care provider that intentionally addresses a | | | | to achieve the goal (Rankin & Duffy, 1996; Redman, |
| learning need. The nursing process provides a method | | | | 2004). By applying the following strategies, nurses |
| for individualizing patient care and education for each | | | | can improve patient education to achieve a |
| patient and event by collecting data to identify the | | | | successful outcome: create a positive environment, |
| needs and problems of an individual patient and | | | | limit your teaching objectives, divide the information |
| family. Patient education is expected to allow the | | | | over a period of time, build on previous information |
| patients to have a better comprehension of an | | | | discussed from each session, communicate clearly |
| aspect or certain aspects of their health condition, | | | | and simply, use multiple teaching methods to convey |
| health needs and care. These educational encounters | | | | your message, and ensure comprehension and /or |
| take place in traditional health organizations such as | | | | verify understanding and clarify misinterpretations. |
| hospitals, community diagnostic centers, and | | | | These same strategies however, can be barriers to |
| non-health care settings and as such they can be | | | | patient education. If misused or unused, patient |
| formal. Patient education is therefore essential to | | | | education would have been futile. Patient education |
| guarantee that the patient is informed and | | | | must therefore be effective. Patient education |
| knowledgeable about his or her condition, which will | | | | therefore requires keen planning but must be |
| facilitate improved health. | | | | implemented to ensure effective patient education. |
| Advocating For More Patient Education | | | | These barriers should therefore be avoided. Some |
| There is a high need for developing a more | | | | challenges to effective patient education includes: |
| structured aspect of patient education, for patient | | | | decreased lengths of hospitalization, a decrease in |
| care. Patients who have a strong understanding of | | | | acuity and alertness of patients, nursing shortages |
| their disease or illness are much more likely to | | | | added to limited time and patient overload, and |
| recover fully and do not have repeated relapses but | | | | patients researching their conditions on the internet |
| benefits with the result of better health and an | | | | with risk for receiving inaccurate and outdated |
| improved understanding of how they need to live to | | | | information. |
| continue to have optimal health. However, the | | | | It is true that many nurses have acknowledged the |
| medical staff, health care facilities and insurance | | | | success of patient education, but nevertheless they |
| companies also benefit by having a reduced number | | | | find it difficult to acquire the effective teaching skills, |
| of unnecessary hospitalizations and ER visits and | | | | and still not many nurses have a strong commitment |
| ultimately impacts and benefits all taxpayers (state | | | | toward their teaching role or group role. However, |
| and federal) (Jernigan, 2009). Identifying those most | | | | for patient education to be effective, the barriers to |
| interested in developing skills in patient teaching, | | | | learning, the setting, teaching resources and |
| providing resources, time, expert input and developing | | | | differences in perception must be taken into |
| an expectation among the general public for better | | | | consideration, and effective patient education should |
| education and information regarding health and | | | | therefore include the following: |
| well-being are essential elements to providing and | | | | 1. Ask the patient how they can best learn. This will |
| maintaining optimal health. This will also improve quality | | | | save time and effort because, some people are |
| health care delivery, practice and health care | | | | audio learners, some are visual learners while, others |
| systems. Assuming more responsibility for patient | | | | are tactile learners and still there are those with |
| education in the ambulatory setting keeps patients | | | | combinations of these learning styles. It therefore |
| healthier and keeps medical conditions from | | | | means that multi-sensory teaching methodologies |
| worsening (Anwar, 1996). It can reduce the need for | | | | maybe required and in fact are very effective. |
| hospitalization and patients can be taught the | | | | 2. Share stories, experiences, anecdotes, and |
| importance of prevention, early treatment and overall | | | | parables to help the patient visualize information |
| health maintenance (Anwar, 1996). Patient education | | | | taught. This is particularly helpful when teaching |
| is therefore extremely critical to ensuring patient | | | | multi-cultural patients or patients with learning |
| adherence to prescribed regimens for both chronic | | | | difficulties. A multi-sensory delivery of patient |
| and non-chronic conditions. It is even more critical | | | | education is useful with such patients. |
| because it helps prevent complications, promote | | | | 3. Convey messages with an interesting element so |
| self-care and independence, and reduce readmissions. | | | | that the patient is intrigued and yearns for more |
| Patient education as an important aspect of treating | | | | information. Summarize what is already known and |
| the patient provides patients with instruction about | | | | emphasize what needs to be known. |
| their care and provides direction for preventing | | | | 4. Demonstrate and then role-play a technique or skill. |
| complications.These complications can cause | | | | Be a model of what you want the other person to |
| unnecessary admissions to the hospital, an increase in | | | | do or to learn. This is particularly critical with self-care |
| medication costs and financial burden to the patient, | | | | skills such as insulin administration, assistive devices |
| family and insurance company thus educating the | | | | and wound care. |
| patient is a simple and effective way to prevent | | | | 5. Encourage your patients to ask questions. This |
| these complications and also thwart any new | | | | may sound simple, but it is often difficult for people |
| diseases from occurring (Jernigan, 2009). | | | | to express themselves. Feedback is important in |
| Patient education in any health-care setting is | | | | evaluating the client's knowledge. |
| significantly more challenging than in regular | | | | 6. Give accurate information and facts. Make an |
| educational systems, as patients' needs and ability to | | | | effort not to instill fear, but encourage strength by |
| assimilate information will be overshadowed by their | | | | your words and actions. Truth promotes trust |
| health-care deficits. However providing information | | | | especially if for patients who have difficulty |
| about patient's condition and care has proven very | | | | processing information. |
| beneficial for many patients. One such research study | | | | Patient education is the process of providing verbal |
| showed that patients who had been subjected to | | | | or written material to the patient to improve |
| planned teaching in preparation for their treatment | | | | understanding and prevent complications and offers |
| experienced less anxiety, increased belief in their | | | | an understanding of the disease process and |
| control over recovery and higher incidence of health | | | | instruction about behaviors and activities to assist the |
| maintenance. Falvo (1994) concluded that the | | | | patient. Nurses should continually assess whether |
| quantity of health care information and patients' | | | | behavioral objectives are being achieved. The |
| access to it have grown dramatically in the last | | | | evaluation process should include: (a) measurement of |
| several years. Although patients may be anxious to | | | | the extent to which the patient has met the learning |
| be informed and play a more active role in their own | | | | objectives, (b) indication of any need to clarify, |
| care, they aren't always sophisticated enough to be | | | | correct, or review information, (c) notation of |
| able to judge which are the more credible sources, | | | | objectives that are not clear, (d) documentation of |
| so there's potential for them to be misinformed | | | | shortcomings in the process, (specifically ill content, |
| (Falvo,1994). | | | | format, activities, and media), and (e) identification of |
| Patient education increases patient compliance, it | | | | barriers that have prevented learning from occurring |
| build trust, reduces anxiety, and minimizes the risk of | | | | (Rankin & Stallings, 2001; Redman, 2004; Wick & |
| malpractice lawsuits against hospital systems and | | | | Robbins, 1998). Education provides patients with a |
| providers. By working to ensure that patients are | | | | knowledge base that empowers active participation in |
| well-informed, you'll also be addressing another | | | | decisions about their own care and outcomes. To |
| requirement of the current health care environment | | | | achieve desired outcomes, educational goals must be |
| – that reduces malpractice risk, and consequently | | | | geared to the needs of the patient, with an |
| by educating the patient and enabling him or her to | | | | educational plan that accounts for the learning style |
| make some decisions about treatment options, for | | | | of the patient and potential barriers to the |
| example, sharing some of the responsibility, will if | | | | educational process. |
| something goes wrong, have the patient less likely to | | | | By continually educating patients about their |
| blame you for the outcome (Falvo, 1994).At the | | | | condition, nurses can help patients improve their |
| Saint John's Health Center, California, patient | | | | health outcomes, build positive attitudes regarding |
| education is an essential building block in their | | | | their treatment, and be more independent. Barriers |
| longstanding mission: to improve the health of the | | | | in learning can grossly inhibit a patient's learning |
| individuals and communities we serve | | | | process and block keen elements for successful |
| (Saint John's Health Center, 2008). Not many | | | | recover and wellness. Most times these barriers are |
| hospitals even practice and or maintain the | | | | not created intentionally, other factors such as the |
| consistency of ensuring that the patients are | | | | lack of time impacts negatively on a successful |
| educated. Having a mission in this regard would | | | | learning outcome. A common result of not providing |
| therefore be futile. A well informed and | | | | patient and family with information is that they fail to |
| knowledgeable patient is better able to play a role in | | | | understand how" to use the information in their own |
| helping to improve his or her own care both before | | | | environment and circumstances, especially after |
| entering and after leaving the hospital | | | | discharge. Nurses have to closely assess the learning |
| (Saint John's Health Center, 2008). It is also a | | | | needs of their patients and act accordingly. . |
| means of empowerment for the patients to take | | | | Effective strategies, approaches and tools to |
| control of their health, thus maintaining optimal health. | | | | integrate patient education in practice, must be |
| Certainly, if the patient is content it will be a result of | | | | sequentially planned. Patient education will help to |
| good health and or optimum health being maintained. | | | | develop systems, if selective resources and essential |
| Effective Patient | | | | materials are used, and this too will maximize the |
| Education | | | | efficiency and effectiveness of health services and |
| The individual needs of the patient should be used to | | | | practice. |