Patient Education (Nursing)

00:01 Welcome to the very important topic, of patient education.

00:06 Patient education is so important in the hospital setting or in the patient care setting.

00:12 Because this can help increase compliance with treatments and help those patients make a better treatment decision, for their own care.

00:21 So, let's talk about some of the professional standards for client education.

00:25 Now, these are set by joint commission and they're also supported by your particular state nurse practice act.

00:33 And this client education is usually fulfilled by different members of the health care team.

00:39 Now, let's even talk about why is even patient education such a big deal.

00:44 Well, it's extremely important about ensuring informed decision-making.

00:50 And what I mean by this, is if a patient's going to have a big surgery or an invasive procedure, they need patient education about the expected procedure and the possible risks and the benefits.

01:03 It also helps to engage in their own care and again like we've mentioned before, it definitely helps increase treatment compliance.

01:11 Because as you can imagine if a nurse just gave you a lot of pills or a procedure to do, or some sort of action and you have no idea why, well, you may not be as compliant, as about making sure you stick with that treatment.

01:26 And of course, patient education plays a key role, in reducing injury such as falls and increases the patient satisfaction.

01:34 A lot of that has to do with patient education and just good communication.

01:39 Now, one key thing to think about as a nurse is, patient education, is so very important of promoting, excellence by supporting certain programs.

01:49 Like congestive heart failure, stroke or sepsis for example.

01:53 Now, what i mean by this, is there's certain what we call core measures, to where we have to provide specific education, about that disease process for that patient.

02:05 Here's a great example, like for stroke, we have to make sure to educate our patient of what the signs and symptoms are of stroke and when to call 911 when they discharge from the hospital.

02:17 This education, is so very important that we educate and document, that way if the patient goes home, they know exactly what to do and when to call 911.

02:29 Now, let's talk about just the pathway of education.

02:32 There's those two big pieces of a course teaching and the learning side.

02:37 When we're talking about teaching, this should be an interactive process that helps promote learning and there's a lot of interpersonal communication, that's effective, when we're making sure we keep those learners needs in mind.

02:51 Now, the learning piece is of course just that acquisition of that great knowledge.

02:57 Now, let's talk about the role of the nurse in regards to education.

03:00 We of course have an ethical responsibility to teach these clients.

03:05 We've also got to make sure that the information that we give them, is accurate complete and relevant to them.

03:13 And we need to identify what does the client actually need to know and when are they actually ready to learn.

03:21 Now, when we talk about learning, here are some factors we've got to consider, when we're providing education.

03:27 So number one, are they even motivated to learn.

03:31 Now, this is important to assess in your patient, because if this is not the time and they don't seem motivated or even willing to learn, that could create a barrier to providing education.

03:42 Also consider, what's their ability to learn.

03:45 Are we providing education that's appropriate to their cognitive ability, their developmental level or are they even feeling well enough, because they're so ill, are they even able to learn at this point in time.

04:01 We of course need to assess that.

04:03 And of course think about the learning environment, that you're providing education in.

04:08 This allows the person to attend to instruction.

04:11 Is it at the bedside or is it maybe in a clinic setting or an outpatient setting.

04:17 Now, when you talk about the learning environment, we may overlook this sometimes as a nurse, but here are some key factors to remember, about a positive learning environment, to facilitate education and knowledge acquisition.

04:31 Can we have a well-lit environment.

04:33 Also, is it ventilated, is it a comfortable temperature, do you have the appropriate resources.

04:40 This could mean online resources, this could mean a computer or even education handouts.

04:46 Is the learning environment quiet? This may seem silly, i know we're in the hospital setting, but as much as possible, this and privacy is important.

04:56 Because you want the full attention of the client and again, sometimes all of the information with education, could be hard to hear with a busy loud environment.

05:07 Of course, anytime that we provide education, we must evaluate learning.

05:13 Otherwise how do we know that that education was effective.

05:17 So, here are three great ways in making sure that our patient has understood our instructions and we can evaluate learning for them.

05:26 So, this first one is what we call, "The Teach Back" method.

05:29 This is the absolute gold standard and one of the best ways to evaluate learning.

05:35 So, here's a great example of the "Teach Back Method".

05:38 Maybe your patient has to go home on a blood thinner injection, that goes into their abdomen.

05:44 Now, as a nurse we're going to provide diligent education on this particular skill for the patient.

05:50 Then, we need to have that patient teach back to us, how they would perform that skill.

05:57 And of course, we will evaluate, to make sure that the patient understands, all those key pieces and evaluate this learning.

06:04 And again, this is one of the absolute best ways, and a really common method that we use.

06:10 And of course, verbalizing back any type of instruction that we give them and that they understand.

06:17 And written validation, is another great way, that, if we provide education, that the patient can write out exactly what they're comprehending and the instructions that we give.

06:28 Now, let's talk about what is a client's preference for learning.

06:33 As you can imagine we all have different learning styles and preferences.

06:37 So, it's really important, that you consider these and assess this before you educate with your client.

06:44 So, one of those, is consider relevant reading materials.

06:48 Now, this can come in the form as like a specific old diabetic diet plan for someone who's newly diagnosed.

06:55 Medication information sheets, diagnosis information or just education pamphlets.

07:01 Now, some patients may really like reading materials, because they've got something on hand and something they can refer back to.

07:10 Also, some of your patient may be more hands-on or a visual learner.

07:14 So, you can use particular demonstration videos recordings or just hands-on activities.

07:20 Now, some patients may like a really easy avenue of stuff, like podcasts internet websites, that they can refer to or online support groups, where it's a non-biased place, in a non-judgmental place, where they can ask questions.

07:35 And of course, we have educators that are specially trained to provide thorough and accurate information.

07:42 A great example of that, is a diabetic educator.

07:45 It's a very large, complex disease process and those diabetic educators, can support them along the way.