Patient Education Report: Principles, Strategies, and Medication

This report delves into the critical aspects of patient education, emphasizing its role in enhancing patient-centered care and self-efficacy. It outlines key principles for developing effective teaching plans, including relevance, motivation, readiness and maturation, reinforcement, and patient participation. The report further explores various patient teaching strategies, such as verbal education, visual aids, and audiovisual aids, highlighting their effectiveness in improving patient comprehension and satisfaction. Additionally, it stresses the importance of educating patients about their medications, including dosage, purpose, administration, and potential adverse effects, while also addressing drug interactions. The report underscores the significance of a multidisciplinary approach and the use of clear, concise communication to empower patients in their self-care and medication management.

Running Head: PATIENT EDUCATION 1
Patient Education
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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

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developmentally able to understand and practice the information provided. They may therefore
require an able guardian or care taker who is the given the information.
Reinforcement in the patient education sense refers to strengthening the knowledge and
understanding of the information provided. It may include repetition or asking questions, and
providing positive feedback to patients to motivate them to learn. Participation encompasses the
patient’s involvement in the learning process. It enhances the patient’s understanding
Patient teaching strategies to consider
Patient education requires a multidisciplinary approach that considers several factors like
the patient’s culture, condition, literacy level among other factors. The most used strategy is
verbal education. It is used in all patient encounters with their healthcare providers. Verbal
education when used together with other strategies like written materials such as brochures was
found to be very effective by (Marcus, 2014). Verbal education also makes it easier for the nurse
to asses the patient’s comprehension of the material and ensures continuous education as patients
get to take the written material with them for further education. While using this strategy,
patients should be given information in small increments to allow them to build on the
information without causing confusion. Verbal instruction should always be used in combination
with another strategy to enhance effectiveness (Pratt and Searles, 2017).
Another strategy that should be considered is use of visual aids especially when
demonstrating activities such as insulin injections and using nebulizers or inhalers. Illustrations
enhance understanding especially in patients whose literacy skills are low. A study by Goad,
Huntley-Dale and Whichello (2018) revealed that audiovisual use in patient education enhanced
retention of information which subsequently increased patient satisfaction. Visual aids also have

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the ability to bypass barriers brought about by language and poor literacy levels therefore
reducing incidences of misunderstandings. They can also enhance explanation of adverse
reactions of medications and instruction on proper administration of medication.
Important information about medication.
After treatment, patients are often sent home with medication that they are required to
adhere to, to remain healthy. Different medications are given depending on the patient’s
condition. Some patients, especially the elderly with different comorbidities may require more
medication than the average person. Failure to adhere to medication increases risk of relapse,
remission or may cause resistance to medication.
The patient should be educated on the medication dosage, when to take the medication,
the purpose of the medication, the route of administration, if the drugs need an accompaniment,
and most importantly the mild and the adverse effects (Lilley et al, 2017). Knowing this
information enhances the patient’s selfcare. The patient is also able to monitor their drug intake
and report any related adverse reactions to the physician.
Understanding the dosage reduces chances of overdose or underdosage, therefore
enhancing the drugs action. Patients should also learn about drug interactions. For instance, some
antibiotics barely act on the body when consumed together with hormonal/ family planning
medication. It is therefore important for the nurse to provide the patient with extensive
information about prescribed medication and encourage them to report any adverse effects.

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References
Lilley, L. L., Snyder, J. S., Swart, B., & Collins, S. R. (2017). Pharmacology for Canadian
health care practice (3rd ed.). Toronto: Mosby Canada.
Marcus, C. (2014). Strategies for improving the quality of verbal patient and family education: A
review of the literature and creation of the EDUCATE model. Health Psychology and
Behavioral Medicine,2(1), 482-495. doi:10.1080/21642850.2014.900450
Pratt, M., & Searles, G. E. (2017). Using Visual Aids to Enhance Physician-Patient Discussions
and Increase Health Literacy. Journal of Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery,21(6), 497-
501. doi:10.1177/1203475417715208
Paterick, T., Patel, N., Tajik, A.J., and Chandrasekaran, K. (2017). Improving health outcomes
through patient education and partnerships with patients. Baylor University Medical
Center Proceedings. 30(1) 112-113
Goad, M., Huntley-Dale, S., & Whichello, R. (2018). The Use of Audiovisual Aids for Patient
Education in the Interventional Radiology Ambulatory Setting: A Literature
Review. Journal of Radiology Nursing,37(3), 198-201. doi:10.1016/j.jradnu.2018.06.003
Farahani, M., Mohammadi, E., Ahmadi, F., and Mohammadi, N. (2013). Factors influencing the
patient education: A qualitative research. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery
Research. 18(2), 133-139