What is a good patient education topic?

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Hi all. Groups in our class were all assigned a teaching project

My group chose Vitamin D without me and our other group members knowing or voting for or against it

I do not want to do vitamin d, I'd like to do something that would be fun, interesting, not so complicated for both the patient and nurse to understand and practice.

We are all first semester students, so we don't know too much yet.

Can any of you list off topics that you've done that is fun? Something like handing out papers for students to fill out as a survey or something that stands out.

I absolutely hate doing projects and presentations because I choke up, I skip a lot of information just to get it over with. And if I don't understand it or unfamiliar or not comfortable with the topic, I tend to rush through my notes without getting all information out.

I rather talk about a topic that is familiar to majority of us all, something that will be easy for patients to understand, etc etc. vitamin D I feel that we can't show or have fun with it during our presentation.

Thank you, much appreciated:)

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Specializes in Neuro ICU and Med Surg.

Prevention of DVT/PE. It is a complication of patients being immobile in the hospital. It is a fairly straightforward topic.

(DVT= deep vein thrombosis, PE= pulmonary embolism)

Knowing stroke symptoms and what to do.

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Vit D seems like a crappy topic, I agree! DVT prevention is a great one, it applies to inpatients and outpatients and doesn't require medication knowledge! Fall prevention would be another good one.

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Prevention of DVT/PE. It is a complication of patients being immobile in the hospital. It is a fairly straightforward topic.

(DVT= deep vein thrombosis, PE= pulmonary embolism)

Knowing stroke symptoms and what to do.

Just researching about it and viewing info, sounds awesome. It seems like it'd be pretty common in anyone? I read it happens to 50 years and older people, but it also says that you can get DVT just by sitting for so long in a plane, car, etc.

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Vit D seems like a crappy topic, I agree! DVT prevention is a great one, it applies to inpatients and outpatients and doesn't require medication knowledge! Fall prevention would be another good one.

Can anyone get DVT? This website says it's common in people 50 years and older ..

But it lists risk factors of DVT and it seems like almost anyone can get it??

Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT): Symptoms, Treatments & Prevention

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Hi all!!

Also, it should be focused on the "student body"

So I don't think DVT would be a good topic for us :/

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Lots of things increase your risk of dvt. Here in the uk it was on the news last night, talking about making it more well known about the contraceptive pill increasing risk because there have been a few young ladies who have died after dvt resulted in pulmonary embolism. There have also been news reports on youngsters getting them because they were spending prolonged periods sitting at computers and games consoles. I know someone who got one from spending lots of time sitting while she was writing her dissertation. So yes, really anyone can get one.

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Lots of things increase your risk of dvt. Here in the uk it was on the news last night, talking about making it more well known about the contraceptive pill increasing risk because there have been a few young ladies who have died after dvt resulted in pulmonary embolism. There have also been news reports on youngsters getting them because they were spending prolonged periods sitting at computers and games consoles. I know someone who got one from spending lots of time sitting while she was writing her dissertation. So yes, really anyone can get one.

Thanks! I can't find an assessment tool that is directed to any age. They all come up for 40 years and older :(

I wanted an assessment tool to pass out to our classmates so we can get feedback anonymously.

I'm not sure if I can make one up based off other assessment tools because age supposedly plays a big factor in the assessment tool. Idk :/

I was thinking maybe STIs as a topic?

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Specializes in Med Surg/ICU/Psych/Emergency/CEN/retired.

DVT/PE is an excellent suggestion. You're in nursing school so get used to researching topics. Do you have use of a library? Medscape? Do you have a med-surg textbook? Do you have any knowledge how to do a literature search? The library is your friend. There is a HUGE amount of information on the subject. And anyone can get DVT or a PE, depending on many variables. If you're stumped how to search, ask your instructor for some help or if you are near a medical school library, ask that librarian. Your search skills get polished as you navigate nursing school. It's all doable. Good luck.

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Specializes in ER/Tele, Med-Surg, Faculty, Urgent Care.

For first semester students, what course is this for? Fundamentals? Also DVT may be more of med-surg related & possibly too advanced for beginners??. What were the other topics to choose from?, so that we can get an idea of the general topics. I taught for ten years in a BSN program and presenting either individually or as a group was pretty common for most classes. Sometimes students were required to make props &/or pamphlet for the audience. And while many people hate speaking in front of groups of people, the intent is to get you more comfortable. As nurses we are many times teaching groups/families a variety of things.

What other guidelines did your instructor give for this patient teaching project?

Can you list the grading rubric for this assignment?

Have you taken nutrition as a pre-req?

Sometimes when I'm sitting outside in the sun, I like to say "I'm busy making vitamin D" if anyone asks. And lately in primary care, we are checking Vit D levels pretty often. The allergy doc I work for orders 25 hydroxy Vit D3 levels. *(CLUE)*. Do you know what the RDA (recommended daily allowance) for adults is??? What foods should you eat to get this vitamin? Can you get sick from taking too much Vitamin D supplements??? How many types of vitD are there?

So before you decide that you can not have fun with this, do some research and really what would be the point of assigning a topic that " is familiar to us all?"

Some of the best presentations were skits complete with costumes. I saw one of the best explanations for Benner's Theory (Novice to Expert) as a skit where the characters were bakers, the most experienced baker never measured, never spilled anything, shirt/hat/tie perfect,soufflé was perfect. The novice made a mess, flour all over, measured everything 3 times. The Narrataor just read the highlights of Benner's theory. Get the picture?

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For first semester students, what course is this for? Fundamentals? Also DVT may be more of med-surg related & possibly too advanced for beginners??. What were the other topics to choose from?, so that we can get an idea of the general topics. I taught for ten years in a BSN program and presenting either individually or as a group was pretty common for most classes. Sometimes students were required to make props &/or pamphlet for the audience. And while many people hate speaking in front of groups of people, the intent is to get you more comfortable. As nurses we are many times teaching groups/families a variety of things.

What other guidelines did your instructor give for this patient teaching project?

Can you list the grading rubric for this assignment?

Have you taken nutrition as a pre-req?

Sometimes when I'm sitting outside in the sun, I like to say "I'm busy making vitamin D" if anyone asks. And lately in primary care, we are checking Vit D levels pretty often. The allergy doc I work for orders 25 hydroxy Vit D3 levels. *(CLUE)*. Do you know what the RDA (recommended daily allowance) for adults is??? What foods should you eat to get this vitamin? Can you get sick from taking too much Vitamin D supplements??? How many types of vitD are there?

So before you decide that you can not have fun with this, do some research and really what would be the point of assigning a topic that " is familiar to us all?"

Fundamentals class and guidelines say to just choose whatever topic we want to teach our students.

No majority of us have not taken nutrition. This is why I do not want to do Vitamin D. It just seems boring for our class.

I'm trying to minimize the research because we only have a few days to begin presenting (maybe 3 days). We were assigned to the project Monday and my part of my group came up with the vitamin d topic today without notifying me and others.

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Specializes in Neuroscience.

Research some articles about vitamin D before you dismiss the idea. A lot of studies are being done that shows Vitamin D plays an even bigger role in reducing bone fractures than previously thought, especially in the elderly. You might find it interesting.

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