Take-out education extends teaching
Videos make it possible to give lessons at home
Take-home videos have become an integrated part of teaching plans at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison. "Many of our videos are produced in-house and are specifically designed to complement the print materials and related discussions," says Zeena Engelke, RN, MS, senior clinical nurse specialist at the hospital system.
The videos often prepare patients for a procedure or provide reinforcement for skills taught in the hospital or clinic. For example, women who have had breast surgery take a video on drain care home with them after surgery to reinforce the teaching they received as an inpatient on self-care skills. Patients view "First Day Surgery" before their surgery work-up visit.
In the videos that introduce patients to the health care facility for surgical procedures, there is a sequence of activities so patients will know how to navigate the facility. It also offers sensory information about the procedure. "The more the patients know about what they are going to see, hear, feel, taste, and touch, the less anxious they will be about the experience," explains Engelke.
Another piece that makes the videos valuable to patients is the interviews with other patients and family members who tell what the experience was like for them. This provides a range of responses and makes the information more meaningful than a booklet, says Engelke.
To make sure take-home videos are returned, a label is placed on each with instructions to return the video to either the clinic or learning center. There is no deadline, so patients can return the videos the next time they come to the clinic. About 100 tapes are kept in stock for each high-volume procedure and about 20 for less frequent procedures.
It’s important to note how long it is before the patient will be scheduled for a clinic visit to calculate how many videos will need to be kept on hand, explains Engelke. Patients usually don’t make special trips to return a video.
"The videos never take the place of verbal teaching; they are integrated within the teaching plan. They probably expedite the teaching process, but they should never take the place of it," says Engelke.
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