Need help with ideas!!

Inkits · Oct 29, 2009

You can never go wrong with hand washing! We did a research project last semester on this and what a great thing for a teaching opportunity!

Angie

waRN2b2011 · Oct 29, 2009

You're right! I could get really creative with that :) (as far as teaching tools etc)

Columnist · Oct 29, 2009

You could do handwashing for children. There are several tools for this. This site has some really creative ideas.

http://www.earthskids.com/basic_handwashing_info.htm

L8RRN · Oct 29, 2009

Handwashing is fine, but apparently our instructor had seen a lot of them and really wanted us to pick something else. Your instructor may love it but I thought I would add a few other suggestions.

If you are doing it to fellow nursing students, check into ways to reduce test anxiety (or anxiety in general). You can find breathing and stretching exercises (make them participate in doing them), tips on what to do the before a test (get plenty of sleep, eat breakfast, etc), visualization techniques (go to your happy place), listen to music, etc. Just google ways to relax.

Diabetic foot care was done by classmates and it was really good (tips about checking feet, nail care, what to look for, showed pictures of different foot conditions associated with diabetics, etc).

One group did it to elementary school kids about keeping your body healthy (wear helmet, eat healthy snacks, wear seatbelt, play/exercise, etc). They made theirs pretty interactive by tracing a student and having the kids give suggestions then they drew a helmet on the tracing, drew snacks, etc).

Another group did the differences in Hep A, B, C, D, etc, how it is transmitted, ways to prevent transmission and so on. They did it to an addiction treatment group.

Another one did lice to elementary kids. Like don't share brushes, hats, etc. They showed what the lice looked like, that it causes itching, and made a handout on how to get rid of them for the kids to take to the parents. They also had a lice coloring page for the kids.

Good luck no matter what you decide!

DolceVita, ADN, BSN, RN · Oct 29, 2009

What about non-pharm pain management? Great topic and very underused by patients. Include distraction techniques, guided imagery or something.

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Oct 30, 2009

One of the BEST student-created teaching projects I have ever seen was a patient education module on "Salt Content in Food". She incorporated some fun interactions... everyone got a potato chip, piece of fruit, spoon of ice cream, etc. and had to guess the one with the highest salt content. She then veered off on to reading lables & actually had containers of salt to represent daily amounts (recommended versus average). It was evaluated by a group of educators - and we all thought it was FABULOUS!

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · Oct 30, 2009

When I was in nursing school I did outreach for a migrant health clinic/community health center; part of my job was educating on HIV prevention. Lots of different things you can do with that.

One thing I did was make flash cards with things showing ways HIV can and cannot be transmitted. I also used my hand (or you can use a cucumber or banana) to show how to use a condom.

It wasn't hard to make goals; you just think, 'What do I want people to come away knowing?' For that presentation it was 1) that the learners would be able to identify ways HIV is and is not transmitted; and 2) that the learner would verbalize (or demonstrate, if you want) proper use of a condom. Your outcomes, you can just rephrase the goals in a different way. I have always done that, for presentations in nursing school and at work, and it has worked.

There are so many organizations with good (free) HIV pamphlets that you can either download/print, or use the information you find to make your own pamphlets. Good luck. :)