Need ideas for teaching...

[DutchgirlRN]

We, as I'm sure everyone does, have to document with each visit what was taught. If you continue seeing the same patient, 3 x a week, how in the heck do you keep coming up with subjects to teach the patient? From my understanding if we don't include teaching the agency won't even bill Medicare for the visit. I understand the importance I just have trouble coming up with new ideas for each visit. HELP!

[wonderbee, BSN, RN]

Our forms have many canned teaching topics. For instance "teaching given new or changed medications". "Skilled observation", "wound care", etc. Sometimes I refer to my old nursing school care plan books. They are full of good stuff.

[ragtopnurse]

We, as I'm sure everyone does, have to document with each visit what was taught. If you continue seeing the same patient, 3 x a week, how in the heck do you keep coming up with subjects to teach the patient? From my understanding if we don't include teaching the agency won't even bill Medicare for the visit. I understand the importance I just have trouble coming up with new ideas for each visit. HELP!

Is teaching your only skill and have you taught everything on the disease such as meds, s/s to report, ways to manage their disease when HomeCare has DC'd? I know that frequently this happens, the patient is stable and you have taught everything 2 or 3 times. When you reach this stage it is time to look at discharging. I know we become attached to some of our patients and we don't want to discharge them for "fear" that if we do they will have an exacerbation so we keep them and "wait" for the exacerbation. This is one of the things that drives ACH rates up and I have been as guilty as anyone else when it comes to having patients that I just don't want to discharge. Medicare is changing and we can't keep these patients indefinitely any longer. What are some of the patients diagnoses? Maybe together we can all come up with more ideas.

[ragtopnurse]

One thing I do with diabetics is go through their pantry/refrigerator and teach or practice label reading and calculating their intake. I find that this really gives them hands-on experience in controlling their diet.

Great idea!

[newLPN04]

485 is the POC (Plan Of Care), has pt information on it, list of meds, orders, dx, goals.

[karmil]

When the SOC RN goes out to assess pt, she has a sheet from our Dept. of ALL the info we have on hand to teach. She quickly circles all the pertaining necessary teaching topics and brings it back to the office. Our NA then gathers the sheets and puts them in a plastic folder in the chart. The next nurse who goes out has them right on hand to teach. We split them up between visits. It is working wonderfully!