Every interaction is opportunity to teach
March 1, 2002
Every interaction is opportunity to teach
Conversation is a learning opportunity
Most patient and family education is done within the context of casual conversation; therefore, employees should be taught how to use conversation to assess learning needs, teach, and evaluate learning, says Fran London, MS, RN, a health education specialist at The Emily Center of Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
"They need to recognize how learners are always providing information about what worries them, what bothers them, what they know, and what they need to know. They need to pick up on those cues and teach from there," she says.
Effectiveness as a teaching method depends on the individual situation. Teaching can take place through explanation, verbal exchange, demonstration, experiential, and behavioral strategies, says Mary Szczepanik, MS, BSN, RN, manager of cancer education, support, and outreach at Columbus, OH-based Grant/Riverside Methodist Hospital. "While explanation is the easiest, it’s probably the least effective for a [new patient] when the patient has to perform a complex task independently, like care of a central venous catheter at home," she says.
When patients don’t seem to be getting a concept, its time for a staff member to more thoroughly assess the learner’s abilities and needs to better individualize the teaching, says London. "This skill takes practice and experience to perfect. Staff need to identify challenges and barriers clearly to figure out how to work around them," she says. Role-playing or actual cases can be used to teach this skill to staff.
Staff members become better teachers when they recognize that every interaction with a patient or family member is part of the teaching process — whether assessment, teaching, or evaluation of understanding, says London. Find out what their priorities are and individualize the teaching to their abilities and needs, she advises.
Although health care workers complain that they don’t have time to teach every interaction is actually an opportunity to teach. "It is not a question of needing more time, but paying attention to the learner and the learner’s needs in the time you have. This is patient-centered care, rather than task-centered care," says London. n
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content