Summary

Informed decision-making and self-care have been the focus of this section exploring aspects of patient and family education. The four purposes of health education were identified as health promotion, disease prevention, function restoration, and facilitation of coping and adjustments to health challenges and changes (the “new normal”). Health maintenance and promotion include considerations for an overall more actively involved population of healthcare consumers who have more interest in health promotion and illness prevention. Nurses play a role in promoting adherence to and compliance with health promotion and illness prevention even for patients who are not as invested in their healthcare decisions and actions.

Factors such as health literacy, feelings, and anxiety, and physical influences like pain or limitations influence patients’ adherence to and compliance with treatment and nursing care plans. For those patients whose lives are chronically, drastically, or permanently altered due to illness, injury, or health changes, education by nurses focuses on fostering the best possible outcomes and supporting patients and their families as they learn to cope with changes. Another consideration is motivation, which affects participation in healthcare decisions and potentially all aspects of health care and self-care, including commitment and enthusiasm for learning.

Preventing injuries and illness is another aspect of self-care and health maintenance, and can be influenced by knowledge, skills, and attitudes, as well as other factors, including readiness for learning, learning capabilities, and the environment for learning. These issues all take on a different tone in the specific and often overwhelming world of health care. Nurses engaged in patient teaching should consider these factors and plan teaching accordingly, based on relevance to individual learners.

Methods of learning and teaching are critical considerations when planning and implementing patient and family education. There are three learning methods: (1) cognitive, or learning associated with thinking and understanding; (2) affective learning, or that which is associated with feelings and emotions; and (3) psychomotor learning, which involves the neuromuscular coordination of skills and tasks.

Educators are most effective when different methods of learning and other factors are included. Some of these additional factors include dynamics of the teaching session, such as whether the audience is an individual or a group of learners. It is also helpful for the teacher to be aware, in advance, of setting, materials, and resources like audio-visual equipment. The nurse can be better prepared by knowing as much as possible in advance. Such preparation also allows the educator to individualize the teaching method for the particular audience.

Nurses use a variety of teaching methods, depending on factors like volume and type of information to be delivered, whether the topic includes skill practice and acquisition, setting, and patient preferences. Lecture remains a good method for sharing a lot of information but is more effective when combined with handouts for reference. Demonstration and simulation tend to be better remembered after practice, because they incorporate multiple learning methods.

Education of patients, families, and communities has a natural role within nursing and is based on the relationships nurses establish with patients and others involved in their care. The relationship between the provision of education and nursing standards is exemplified by Standard 5B, Health Teaching and Health Promotion. Additionally, nurses play an integral role in advocacy, which has been explored in this chapter.

Nurses are trusted professionals, and they fulfill many roles in addition to that of caregiver. Nursing’s Scope and Standards of Practice (ANA, 2021) describes all aspects of nursing practice (“who, what, where, when, and how”), as well as Standards of Professional Practice, which is focused on competency in the practice of the professional nurse. Such practice includes that of the RN and advance practice roles. Additionally, the Standards of Professional Performance center on competency in professional roles, particularly leadership.

Nurses take on the roles of teachers, counselors, and evaluators. How nurses fulfill the obligations of the varied roles of the profession has been explored and exemplified. A variety of skills enables nurses to effectively educate patients and their families in a multitude of settings. Such skills include being approachable, knowledgeable, flexible, dependable, and effective communicators.

Evaluation, analysis, and interpretation of educational interactions are necessary steps after a teaching session. These processes allow the educator to determine whether learning has occurred, whether the educational interventions were successful, and whether goals have been met.

Evaluation methods, including direct observation, return demonstration, verbalization of understanding, and the checklist, have been described in this final section of the chapter. These methods allow for the objective, structured evaluation of teaching and learning, as well as ways to document the accomplishment or lapse.

Following the evaluation process, analysis and interpretation of the evaluation data are indicated. The findings may prompt reassessment of the patient’s educational needs. Depending on assessment findings, revising either the patient’s goals or the method used for teaching may be indicated. It can also be possible that both the patient’s goals and teaching method need revising. These varied processes and possibilities have been explored and examples provided throughout this chapter.