Principles of Patient Education and Teaching Strategies

Running Head: PATIENT EDUCATION 1
Patient Education
Name
Date
Institution

PATIENT EDUCATION 2
Principles to be considered to prepare a teaching plan
Patient education has proven vital in enhancing patient-cantered care. It also improves a
patient’s ability to care for themselves therefore improving self-efficacy. According to (Paterick
et al, 2017), health care workers should promote patient education as it improves health literacy
and enhances self-care. In addition, it allows patients to make informed decisions regarding their
plan of care. Principles that should be considered when preparing a patient teaching plan include
relevance, motivation and readiness and maturation, reinforcement and participation (Farahani et
al, 2013).
Relevance basically means that the information given to the patient should be related to
their condition. This way they can understand and relate. The flow of information should also be
easily understandable to avoid confusing the patient.
Motivation involves ensuring the teaching process is engaging and interesting for the
patient. This keeps them motivated to learn more about their condition. When the patient sees the
value of the information being given, they are bound to pay attention by themselves without
being pushed to.
Readiness is closely related to motivation. It explains a state of the learner’s willingness
to learn. The patient has to be psychologically ready and willing to learn. They must be
motivated enough both physically and emotionally for the education given to have impact.
The principle of maturation describes the patients being in a physically, developmentally
and cognitively able state to learn and understand the information provided. This principle states
that the elderly, the very young and people with special needs may not be physically or