Answer 3 for NRS 429 Describe the nurse’s role and responsibility as health educator

Nurses wear many hats. One of them is being an educator. Part of providing care for our patients is also teaching them about their condition, their medications, the plan of care, safety, and what to do upon and after discharge. Patients gain more knowledge and confidence when nurses give them proper education about their care. It is also a great way of getting the patient to participate in their care. Giving patient education results in better patient outcomes. Nurses play a great role in patient education because not only do they increase their patient’s knowledge, but they also increase their confidence in being able to care for themselves after getting discharged. Aside from knowing the learning styles of the patient, the nurse educator may consider other strategies in developing individual care plans or educational programs to promote health. Some strategies suggested by Gayle Morris (2022) include keeping things simple, considering communication barriers, writing down important information, and utilizing the teach-back method. It is helpful to use simple words and terminologies instead of medical terms when teaching the patient. Most of the time, when someone does not understand the words used, they lose their focus and interest. Nurses must talk to patients using words and terms that patients understand. It is also helpful when nurses understand their patient’s background and if there are any language or cultural barriers. This way, the nurse can consider using an interpreter or providing printed materials in the patient’s language, and structure her teaching appropriately. Writing information helps the client retain important patient education items. It also enables the nurse to follow through and go back to the written notes to reinforce teaching. When giving patient education, nurses need to make sure that they are able to communicate the message effectively. This can be done by checking for understanding. A good way to check for understanding is asking the patient to teach back the information that was taught to them. This method is especially helpful when there is a medication that they need to administer on their own or a therapeutic action that they need to do. According to the book, Health Promotion: Health & Wellness Across the Continuum (Grand Canyon University, 2022), promoting behavior change and collaborating with the interdisciplinary group are helpful strategies as well. Nurses should make the patient understand that there are certain behaviors that must be avoided or changed because they can be detrimental to their health and wellness. Working with members of the interdisciplinary group allow the nurse to come up with realistic and measurable learning plans. Behavioral objectives should be utilized in care plans or health promotions when there are barriers to learning and habits and actions that do not contribute to the patient’s health. For example, is helpful to set behavioral objectives if the patient has not been taking care of himself or not adhering to medication regimen. Behavioral objectives can also be helpful to those who want to finally commit to self-care and behavior and lifestyle change in order to improve their health and overall wellness.

References

Grand Canyon University (Ed.). (2022). Health promotion: Health and wellness across the continuum (2nd ed.) Morris, G. (2022). 10 ways nurses and nurse leaders can improve patient education. Nurse Journal. Retrieved May 1, 2023, from https://nursejournal.org/articles/tips-to-improve-patient-education/