Patient_Education

The purpose of this assignment is to select a topic for patient education pertinent to a continuing care placement that could be taught within a twenty minute time frame. A teaching plan will be using a skill session strategies upon which this assignment is based the plan will use Redman’s (1993) process approach. A teaching strategy will be chosen to model the education plan. This plan will incorporate SMART patient centred objectives. The author will use guidelines, protocols and policies and other evidence. Rationale will be provided for all points made. Confidentiality will be maintained at all times in accordance with NMC Guidelines (2008) names and places will be omitted to protect identities. With any topic, before teaching can begin an educational assessment must take place (ASHCROFT and FORMAN- PECK 1994) this is broken down into steps. The first is what does the patient need to know' Many patients in hospital will not remember what is told to them, this is due to their frame of mind during their admission, they may be scared and find in difficult to take in a lot of information, they may only take in bits of information which is directly relevant to them, so the information must be specific in content and only the necessary skills to increase quality of life should be passed on (WELSH and SWANN 2002 BLACK 1997). The patients ability to learn what is needed within the limited time available often contrasts with what they want to know. As well as time being a factor all other barriers to learning must be taken into consideration: Age, sex, education, cultural, language skills, religious practices, the patients ability and willingness to learn and their attitudes towards their condition. Barriers such as physical limitations should also be taken into account (HUDDLESTONE and ERWIN 1997, WILLIAMS 2008). Motivation is seen as a essential for learning and it is important to keep the learner motivated, if they don’t want to learn then their ability to do so will be greatly diminished (PETTY G 2004, METCALF 1999). Peoples’ willingness to learn will greatly increase if they are taught information which is directly relevant to them (Welsh and Swann 2002, PRINGLE and SWAN 2001). The next step is making sure the patients physical environment is ready for them, is it suitable' Is it similar to what they have at home' What resources are available to them' (WELSH and SWANN 2002) The structure of the patients environment can affect their ability to learn. The teacher should make an effort to remove any distractions or potential hazards from the area, this could include moving to a ‘quiet room’ (Martinez-pons 2003, BENJAMIN 2002). To enhance concentration ideally skills sessions should not exceed 15-20 minutes and the sessions should be kept short simple and informative to keep the learners interest (GREENWOOD 2006, RAE 2003, EDWARDS et al 2001) The next step is level of information, the level of information should be suitable for the patients age and their level of education. Using medical terms should be avoided unless they have already been explained and understood by the patient (WELSH and SWAN 2002). The next step is patient education materials, as hospital stays become shorter and shorter there becomes less and less time for teaching, printed materials. Printed instructions and information can be used to remind patients and can be referred to at any time but should not replace actual instruction. The aids I will be using will be a printed hand out of the steps to changing a stoma bag, the advantages of this being that the patients can refer back to them in their own time and can be tailor made to their own specific learning needs (BUXTON 1999, O’CONNOR 2005). An important part of teaching is not only informing the patient but also the family. Patients may not always feel fully prepared for discharge, so family members can be used as a vital source of support for the patient and should be included in patient education sessions (EDWARDS et al 2001) Finding time to provide teaching sessions can be difficult. But strategies can be created to guarantee the patients’ requirements are met. The education process starts as soon as the patient is brought to the ward and continued into the patients activities of daily living. Providing points of contact after discharge can provide support and help reduce there anxieties about leaving hospital (CRAVEN AND HIRNLE 2006). After this assessment process has been completed a teaching objective must be developed using the SMART plan. The goal needs to be Specific as health professionals need to have a clear understanding which need they are going to deal with first as having to broader perspective will confuse the goals (EWLES and SIMNETT 2003). The aim of the session is to enable the patient to become independent with the changing and cleaning of their stoma bag, Measurable and Realistic, This can be measured by assessing the number of steps that can be completed consistently during their hospital stay and Achievable and Timely, this skill can be realistically achieved before the patient is discharged. This lesson to be taught is an interactive skills session so the teaching model to be used is the process model (REDMAN 1993) which aims to provide direct and concise information the session will be based on an interactive skills session. The next step after the assessment phased is the planning section. The author has used Ewels and Simnetts (2003) guide to teaching a skill which has three stages, demonstration, rehearsal and practice. For the first stage the patient will be observing but will switch to the doing phase in stages two and three. When someone learns something simply being given the information is ineffective for the teaching to be effective repetition and interaction from the learner is required (KIEGER 2004). The demonstration sequence will utilise Kiegers (2004) example of demonstration techniques. Demonstrations should be done slowly and in stages to allow the learner time to process the information. Allow the learner time to get to know the equipment and feel comfortable using it. Distractions should be limited to keep the session on track and to make sure the learner gets the important pieces of information. The more tricky aspects of the session should be repeated to make the learner more confident in those areas before a complete run-through is attempted as a skill is not a skill unless it is a practiced skill because the memory, unless it is recalled, periodically will be forgotten (Petty 2004). And finally feedback should be given, the learner needs to know what is being done correctly and what requires more work (PONT 2003). Using the demonstration technique allows the learner the risk of failure in a safe environment but gives a similarity to the real environment. To maximise the patients ability to care for themselves, Repetition and time should be utilised, the patient should be given time to practice the skills that need to be learned. Practice should be encouraged each time the skill is needed (MAAS and BUCKWALTER 2001). Evaluation is a critical aspect of teaching, to improve your ability to give teaching sessions constant evaluation and reassessment necessary. Reflective teaching is a cycle in which teachers are constantly revising their own standards. The Pollard and Collins (2005) cycle is to plan, make provisions, act, collect evidence, analyse, evaluate and reflect (NICHOLLS 2002) This assignment has discussed the topic of patient teaching covering a topic in which a skill is taught to a patient using the process approach Redman (1993). Through the assignment several teaching strategies have been discussed and rationales provided. The assignment starts with an assessment of the lesson needs followed be a plan and evaluation. I have learnt a great deal during the writing of this assignment and I will be able to use the knowledge I have gained in future nursing practice.