Planning and Teaching about Hypoglycemia

This article discusses the design and planning of the education section for hypoglycemia patients. The education targets a small group of four patients. Two of these patients have been just started using insulin while the other two have used insulin for some time. The paper also uses Gibbs model of reflection to reflect upon the education experience.

Planning and Teaching about Hypoglycemia
Name of student:
Registration number:
Unit Code:
Name of supervisor:
Date due

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Introduction
Hypoglycemia is a medical situation where a person has low blood sugar. This occurs
when the brain and the body cells are not getting enough sugar. A person has low
blood sugar when the sugar level is then than 70mg/dl (Ly et al., 2014). A person with
diabetes type two and who is treated using pills such as sunfonylureas and
meglitinides which contain insulin is at a high risk of getting hypoglycemia/low blood
sugar (Cahill, et al., 2014). Type two diabetes patients using lifestyle changes to
normalize blood sugar are at a low risk of getting low blood sugar. Hypoglycemia is
therefore a very worrisome condition and it is very crucial that they get appropriate
education concerning this condition. This article therefore discusses the design and
planning of the education section for hypoglycemia patients. The education targets a
small group of four patients. Two of these patients have been just started using insulin
while the other two have used insulin for some time. This paper also uses Gibbs
model of reflection to reflect upon the education experience.
Purpose of the education session
Patients with type two diabetes who use insulin for treatment are at a very high risk of
suffering from hypoglycemia (Agarwal, Perry, Long & Labrique, 2015). This
condition is a medical emergency but most individuals who suffer from it recover
completely. Most episodes of hypoglycemia are associated with loss of consciousness
but there are no deaths or serious life time health conditions associated with this
condition. There is no evidence of brain damage or stroke resulting from
hypoglycemia.
The purpose of the education section is therefore to provide patients with basic
knowledge about hypoglycemia condition and hence help them overcome this

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condition. This education session begins by reviewing the knowledge of the
participants about hypoglycemia. It is critical that the participants understand the
causes, methods of prevention and treatment. The participants are asked general and
simple questions relating to diabetes type two and how it has impacted their lives. The
participants are also asked which types of treatment they have used apart from insulin.
From the assessment on the answers to this question, it is clear that the participants
especially those who have begun using insulin have very little knowledge on this
condition. This education section therefore was aimed at improving the participants`
knowledge about the condition.
Group learning was used because it promotes effective learning for patients by
encouraging participation. Group learning is also very critical in this education section
since it gives confidence to the participants. Group discussions enables learners to
interact freely and also identify their strength and hence giving them confidence.
Learning through group discussions also contributes to effective communication
(Braun, Catalani, Wimbush & Israelski, 2013). Participants are able to communicate
their ideas more clearly as opposed to when learning is one on one. Furthermore,
group learning provides an opportunity to provide feedback (Waldron et al., 2016).
The person offering the education can therefore understand the positives and
negatives of the section and hence put the necessary strategies for future
improvement. Learning through group discussion improves interest in lessons.
Participants are able to pay more attention to the things being taught when they are in
groups (Fitzgerald & Keyes, 2017). This is because, they are continuously active and
hence are more likely to pay attention and learn more. It also enables patients

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involved in the situation to exchange their experiences and hence give one another
hope to get healed.
The room in which the education section is conducted is very spacious and well-
conditioned. This ensures that participants are comfortable and they are able to pay
attention during the section (Sharma, 2016).There are enough seats and hence it can
accommodate more participants who may wish to register for this program. The room
has proper lighting and hence making it possible for participants to learn without any
hindrances (Choudhary et al., 2015). The lighting is also very suitable for old patients
who may have a problem in their eyesight.
I used a variety of marketing techniques in order to invite more people to learn more
about hypoglycemia. Before the section began, I placed a big poster at the clinic
reception. This note contained information concerning the subjects to be discussed in
the section. The note also contained my contact information so that those who would
be interested would contact me for further details. Marketing is aimed at giving many
people an opportunity to learn about this condition so that they can be able to live
better lives (Lupton,2014).
The equipment and resources used during this education section include NDSS
handouts. The handouts contain detailed and up to date information which is crucial in
learning for patients with hypdymecia. The handouts can help participants both during
the section and after the section. They can frequently read them in order to recap on
strategies for avoiding hypoglycemia. I also placed posters containing information
about hypoglycemia at strategic points within the facility. This was meant to create

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awareness about hypoglycemia condition and to invite people to learn more about this
condition.
I will design a feedback sheet which will be used to evaluate the participants. The
feedback sheets helps in understanding how many the participants have been able to
learn from the section. The learners indicate what they have gained from the section
and how they will apply the knowledge acquired in their lives. The participants are
also offered materials for future references and are given the contacts they can reach
to in case they need assistance or further training.
Despite no deaths being recorded as a result of this condition, if not treated,
hypoglycemia can progress from lethargy to coma and probably lead to death
(Gugglberger et al., 2015). There have been several cases of hypoglycemia which
lasted for so long and hence resulted to permanent cerebral damage.
Gibbs six steps of reflection
Description
My experience of educating the diabetes type two parents was very interesting. Two
of the patients involved in this program were sixty years and above while the other
two were much younger. The section began by me introducing myself to the
participants and assuring them that by the end of the section they will get all the

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information they need about hypoglycemia. The participants also introduced
themselves and they gave a brief story of their experience with diabetes type two and
how it has impacted their lives. The section was very lively and interactive. All the
participants were curious and asked many questions relating to the condition.
Feelings
My feeling during this section is that the participants were very excited about the
section and they had the desire to know much more. This made me very happy. The
participants also gave positive feedback about the section and this left me with a
feeling of pride and satisfaction.
Evaluation
The presentation was simple to understand for all the participants irrespective of their
age or level of education. The section was beyond expectations because the
information provided was very useful to the participants since some of them had
never come across such information before.
The bad thing about this experience is that there was no enough time to interact with
the participants and review their progress in future.
Analysis
The information offered to the participants was very valuable. There need to be a
follow up section to help in understanding the progress of the participants and
understand how much the education section helped them in understanding the
condition (Gilbert, Sawyer & McNeill, 2014).
Conclusion

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To improve the experience, one of the things I could have done is increase visual aid.
This would make the experience more exciting and the participants would be able to
remember what they were taught more easily. Other professionals such as physicians
and nurses should be involved in order to incorporate a broad base of ideas.
Action plan
In a future section, I would ensure I use more videos when presenting the information
to participants. I would also invite several people who had similar conditions in the
past who would give their experiences with this condition (Van Gaal & Scheen,
2015). In future, I would allocate more time in each section in order to ensure
maximum interaction between the participants.
Conclusion
A person with diabetes type two and who is treated using pills such as sunfonylureas
and meglitinides which contain insulin is at a high risk of getting hypoglycemia/low
blood sugar. Type two diabetes patients using lifestyle changes to normalize blood
sugar are at a low risk of getting low blood sugar. Hypoglycemia is therefore a very
worrisome condition and it is very crucial that they get appropriate education
concerning this condition. This paper discusses the causes and symptoms of
hypoglycemia and also discusses methods of preventing this condition. Some of the
methods of preventing hypoglycemia include schedules insulin therapy, recognition of
precipitating factors, inpatient use of oral agents and monitoring glucose levels.

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