Patient Teaching

[ComicRN]

Hello all -

I am in an RN to BSN program. I have chosen "the importance of patient and family teaching" as my thesis project. I work in a long term care facility and believe that the more a resident and his/her family know, the better off they will be.

Does anyone have any ideas that might help me with my project, or any ideas for a website that I might go to. I've hit a lot of the web sites for various illnesses (the Heart Association, the Alzheimer's Association, etc) but I'd be willing to hear about any and all ideas!

The project is not just THEORY, I actually have to implement a teaching resource center in my facility.

I'm beginning to feel stuck and anything that can get me out of my rut would be helpful!!

Thanks in advance.

Jan

[Barbara Rose]

I would be glad to help you if I can, can you email me with more details? I have school T/TH but could wook out some time later in the week. I actually had a resource web site set up in my last nursing home for family and staff. My email is [email protected] or [email protected]

[frustratedRN]

what a great thesis!

i agree that the more information the patient and family has, the less anxiety they face. in most cases.

there is not enough emphasis on teaching where i work. oh we have the sections to chart teaching but when i go to get teaching materials there are none. i have to run around to different departments and look for them. most nurses where i work wont take the time.

good luck on this project. cant offer any help other than support unless you are considering making a website. that i can do.

[nicola]

I couldn't agree more that this is a critical area in nursing and that the more patients and their families know, the better off we all are. I don't know where you could go. Since home health is an arena where teaching is critical, you may try some home care sites. (Unfortunately I don't know of any.)

For your project you could use the nursing process in teaching. Some times we teachwhat WE think a person needs to know without assessing their readiness to learn or their prior knowledge. (I ran into that when another RN was trying to teach me to use a glucometer - the same make and model I used at my former job and taught others!!! She really peeved me...) Use of the nursing process gives us a great tool to assess the effectiveness of our teaching, gives us a place to start with our clients and helps us to get them on board. (Part of assessment is asking "what do you want to learn".)

Don't know if that helps any... Good luck!