Patient Teaching Website?

[chris21sn, BSN, RN]

This may be a strange request. But well, does anyone have a good site where there are common teachings nurses give to their patients? All aggregated together in a clean pile for multiple diseases?

I was with a community nurse today, and this was my first time ever, that I witnessed a nurse with so much knowledge. She would tell the patient what to do for example: what a woman could or could not take with antibiotics, bleeding precautions when with coumadin, what a patient should do when they have hypertension etc.

Entire "rules" for multiple diseases. Most of it was familiar, but definitely not something I'd think of on the top of my head, because my head is so cluttered from Med Surg teaching us diseases and body systems separately, that you eventually forget.

I don't want to be just be good nurse, I want to be a great one. I wanted to be just like my preceptor nurse.

So if anyone is willing to help me organize my mind and provide some sort website where I can give proper and full nursing teaching, I'll be forever greatful.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

I applaud your eagerness to learn. However, when it comes to patient education, it is much more complex issue than it appears to be. A nurse needs to make sure that his patient teaching is aligned with both evidence-based practice & his employer's policies. If the teaching is related to a collaborative (medical & nursing) effort, he needs to make sure that it is also aligned with the physician's directives. Because - like many things in the real world, even the best of intentions can sometimes come back to bite you in the (er, um) ankle.

Most organizations have an 'approved' resources library (digital or print) for patient teaching - because they can be held liable if the patient does not receive accurate information. Patient education (including information provided & evaluation of understanding) is a part of the health care record. It's basically impossible to keep copies of a zillion random documents, booklets, web sites, etc... so the record just includes a link or reference to the particular (approved) patient teaching tools that were provided to the patient. That way.... when the patient/family sues for - whatever - in 4 or 5 years, the organization can easily access all of the pertinent material.

Yeah, I know, it's sad, right? But if you're ever deposed as part of a patient claim, you'll be happy that the information is all there.

So - ask your preceptor about the materials that are used to educate the patients. If she's just using random (unapproved) references, it is not 'normal' practice. If patient education is your 'thing', I would also suggest that you take a look at some references on Health Care Literacy - there is a huge and growing body of literature on effective patient teaching. This would be a better investment of your time than trying to memorize clinical do's and don'ts that may be completely changed by the time you are launched into your own practice.

[chris21sn, BSN, RN]

I applaud your eagerness to learn. However, when it comes to patient education, it is much more complex issue than it appears to be. A nurse needs to make sure that his patient teaching is aligned with both evidence-based practice & his employer's policies. If the teaching is related to a collaborative (medical & nursing) effort, he needs to make sure that it is also aligned with the physician's directives. Because - like many things in the real world, even the best of intentions can sometimes come back to bite you in the (er, um) ankle.

Most organizations have an 'approved' resources library (digital or print) for patient teaching - because they can be held liable if the patient does not receive accurate information. Patient education (including information provided & evaluation of understanding) is a part of the health care record. It's basically impossible to keep copies of a zillion random documents, booklets, web sites, etc... so the record just includes a link or reference to the particular (approved) patient teaching tools that were provided to the patient. That way.... when the patient/family sues for - whatever - in 4 or 5 years, the organization can easily access all of the pertinent material.

Yeah, I know, it's sad, right? But if you're ever deposed as part of a patient claim, you'll be happy that the information is all there.

So - ask your preceptor about the materials that are used to educate the patients. If she's just using random (unapproved) references, it is not 'normal' practice. If patient education is your 'thing', I would also suggest that you take a look at some references on Health Care Literacy - there is a huge and growing body of literature on effective patient teaching. This would be a better investment of your time than trying to memorize clinical do's and don'ts that may be completely changed by the time you are launched into your own practice.

Thank you for your quick reply! It is much appreciated. Also, I definitely understand what you mean. Teaching isn't linear, it is more of a case-by-case situation. I'll look into the website, it definitely seems promising.

[tmhRN377]

The best website for patients by far. Everything including drug info, conditions, diagnostic tools, and even financial assistance info is included. This is where I send my patients to get the most reliable and helpful info.