Patient Teaching

shape0fmyheart · Nov 18, 2004

I don't have any advice because I'm struggling with this as well. I was thinking of buying Patient Teaching Made Incredibly Easy. I also need the Charting one... I guess with time it WILL get easier, I hope. Sorry I could be of no help, I just wanted to respond to your post since no one ever responds to mine and I can't stand that. :rolleyes: :)

Aneroo, LPN · Nov 19, 2004

We use the METHOD teaching plan.

M= Medications (side effects, interactions, dosage, storage...)

E=Environment (safety)

T= Treatments (dressings)

H= Health/Disease (info on diseases, call MD if temp >100...)

O= Outpatient (follow up with MD on this day, call this # for ques)

D= Diet

rn undisclosed name · Nov 19, 2004

Does anybody else have any suggestions or does this stuff just come naturally to you? They keep telling us we should be teaching everytime we are at the bedside which I agree with. I go over the meds and such with the patient but they already know what I'm telling them but I just say it to them anyways. It also helps reinforce what the med does for me by saying it aloud. I know sometimes I'm not saying something cause I just think it's common sense but then I realize not everyone has that common sense (at least not in that area). Plus, it seems my patients always have problems that are chronic so they know everything about their treatment or else I have patients who are older that are confused (not being judgmental here) and don't understand what you are saying. I know I could be teaching things to the family (confused patients) but they're never there.

Any more suggestions???

Kelly

franlondon · May 3, 2005

Does anybody else have any suggestions or does this stuff just come naturally to you? They keep telling us we should be teaching everytime we are at the bedside which I agree with. I go over the meds and such with the patient but they already know what I'm telling them but I just say it to them anyways. It also helps reinforce what the med does for me by saying it aloud. I know sometimes I'm not saying something cause I just think it's common sense but then I realize not everyone has that common sense (at least not in that area). Plus, it seems my patients always have problems that are chronic so they know everything about their treatment or else I have patients who are older that are confused (not being judgmental here) and don't understand what you are saying. I know I could be teaching things to the family (confused patients) but they're never there.
Any more suggestions???
Kelly

You can save a lot of teaching time and frustration if you focus on assessing learning needs and evaluating understanding, rather than teaching. Focus on the patient's needs. What do they need to know for self-care? What are they worried about? What makes them anxious about going home? Have them tell you what meds they take, how much, when, and why. What would be signs of side effects or complications? When would they call the doctor?People with chronic illnesses may know a lot, but may not know everything. Assess what they know, then, just teach what they don't know and need to know.

Call the family and ask them to come in to review home care stuff. You don't have to wait for them to appear on their own. Make an appointment.

You might want to read the book No Time to Teach? A Nurse's Guide to Patient and Family Education published by Lippincott, and written by Fran London (me). Lots of useful tips.

Imafloat, BSN, RN · May 3, 2005

I have the Mosby Careplan book and it has patient teaching in it to go with every ND. Border's sent me a 30% off coupon in my email so I used it and got the book for $30. I love that book, it has made my life much easier.

I like that METHOD pneumonic I wrote it down.

jenrninmi, MSN, RN · May 3, 2005

I would have to say that it is something that does come in time. We are educated and so know how the patient should be able to keep themself heathy, how to treat their illness, to prevent illness, etc. The patient may not be educated in much of the above so they are really greatful for the education they can get from us. A lot of times they feel like they're wasting the doctor's time by asking what they may think is a stupid question, but may be comfortable to ask us as nurses. I love seeing the appreciation in their eyes when I teach the patients. It's a great feeling!

Fraggle · May 3, 2005

I try to put simple actions and answers into ways they can easily understand. Which also gets around whether they are forgetful or confused. If they're 85 and confused, they don't need to know that much about a beta blocker. They need to know it's for their blood pressure and they shouldn't get out of bed without help.

If it's a chronic disease, like colitis, they've probably read a billion things about it and know everything there is to know about preparing for a colonoscopy. I repeat the prep info, to make sure, though. And what don't they know? When it might be, you can remind them what foods they can have after, and if they don't have questions, then just go with that. Sometimes they just don't need to hear the whole spchiel (sp?).

But usually I just try to put things into their terms, in a way they might not have heard it before.

Does anybody else have any suggestions or does this stuff just come naturally to you? They keep telling us we should be teaching everytime we are at the bedside which I agree with. I go over the meds and such with the patient but they already know what I'm telling them but I just say it to them anyways. It also helps reinforce what the med does for me by saying it aloud. I know sometimes I'm not saying something cause I just think it's common sense but then I realize not everyone has that common sense (at least not in that area). Plus, it seems my patients always have problems that are chronic so they know everything about their treatment or else I have patients who are older that are confused (not being judgmental here) and don't understand what you are saying. I know I could be teaching things to the family (confused patients) but they're never there.
Any more suggestions???
Kelly

mitchsmom · May 3, 2005

I have the Mosby Careplan book and it has patient teaching in it to go with every ND. Border's sent me a 30% off coupon in my email so I used it and got the book for $30. I love that book, it has made my life much easier.
I like that METHOD pneumonic I wrote it down.

Is this the book you are referring to?:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0323016278/ref=pd_sim_b_1/102-6571794-6446535?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance