Essay Sample on Patient Education

Introduction

Diabetes is a major health issue in society today. Due to the high number of cases of people living with diabetes and the nature of the disease, it is critical that education is offered to relevant persons, including patients, to ensure that there a higher level of success in treatment and management of diabetes. As such, the assessment explores learning environments, experiences and outcomes for learners in the management of diabetes. Specifically, the course deals with acquisition of skills about diabetes among learners by focusing on a struggling nurse student, a child patient living with diabetes and a nurse who lacks the experience of dealing with management of cases of diabetes among adolescents as her pervious engagement involved caring for adult patients with diabetes. It is expected that after going through the course, the learners are expected to acquire skills and knowledge crucial for them to address the issue of diabetes in their respective areas of need as practitioners and also as patients of diabetes.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Patient education today plays a significant role in the management of chronic conditions such as diabetes. In the case under focus in the paper, Crystal and Mackenzie Webster were set to benefit from a diabetes management course to ensure that they are aware of the situation, its management strategies, and dynamics. Diabetes management education can improve substantially Mackenzie health outcomes and limit possible complications. The education program was meant to address both individual and family factors that may hinder or enhance learning regarding the management of diabetes in the family.

Equally important is orienting nurses that are transferred from new operating environment. In this case study, Joyce Williams, the staff nurse was transferred from a rural hospital and who had limited experience working with adolescent Type I diabetes patients. Given this, it was critical that the nurse be provided with the necessary orientation and practical exposure to ensure that they come to terms with new demands for effective service delivery concerning treatment and management of cases of Type I diabetes. Issues affecting the ability of nurses to adopt in new environment and skills needs were under focus in this case.

The third case deals with student learning. The purpose was to improve the learning ability of the student who is pursuing a course in juvenile diabetes nursing. Socioeconomic factors and language are under focus since they have been found to affect the ability of the student, Emilio Boggio, to learn effectively. The paper focuses how economic and social-cultural factors can be modified to bring out positive learning outcomes.

Learning Theories and Diversity

There were a number of outcomes for the course. In the case of the Websters, giving them skills and knowledge would create a behavior change and self-management competency necessary to manage the condition. Self-care occurs at home away from nurses and other healthcare providers, and there is a need for the educator to assess and understand the patient environment. Therefore, the patient management information should be adjusted to the individual needs of the family and child. Mackenzie and her mother were provided with the necessary education to ensure that Crystal Webster guides the daughter towards leading a healthy lifestyle to avoid the possibility of complications.

Adjusting to working in a new environment can be challenging. The situation can be even more difficult if the individual is deployed in an area that they have little prior experience. In case of Williams, the giving her the skills and knowledge in dealing with new job demands can assist her reduce medical errors. Therefore, equipping the nurse with new skills and knowledge aligned the nurse competence with current job needs hence the outcome in this context creation of competence.

Proving effective classroom instruction can provide great value to learners. For students like Emilio Boggio, culture and economic status of the family are proving to be serious impediments to her ability to grasp concepts in the nursing class. As such, providing tailored education can help the student to catch up with others thereby acquiring the requisite skills and knowledge for him to be a competent nurse.

The Learning Theories

The Social Learning Theory

Based on the current learning environment which involves a child the social learning theory is the best approach that can be used to educate Crystal and Mackenzie on diabetes self-management. The theory posits that people can learn from each other and it is based on attention, memory, and motivation. The theory holds that human behavior is a continuous process that is affected by the interaction between behavioral, cognitive and environmental factors. The social learning theory enables the newly diagnosed diabetes patient to be able to learn from the experiences, success, and frustrations involved in living with diabetes (Curran, 2014). Self-determination in patient education is very important because it facilitates intrinsic motivation of the patient to live per the evidence-based behavior to lead a healthy lifestyle.

The Behaviorism Theory

The educational theory that is most appropriate in the cases of Williams and Emilio is behaviourism. The theory focuses on the changes in an individual's observable behaviors. This means the educators pay their attention to changes in what learners do or say in response to environmental stimuli. Proponents of the theory believe that only observable and outward behavior is pertinent in learning (Weegar & Pacis, 2012). Thus, focus on how learning is affected by a change of behavior is necessary to address the problems of language and busy family schedule as experienced by Emilio. For instance, the observation of behaviors of Emilio and Williams regarding them methods used to offer them education in their respective areas of need is important for the two learners to acquire the right skills of dealing with the issue of diabetes. Therefore, the individual-specific strategies and techniques used by the educator are critical in these cases since they are the major source of stimuli that affects their learning outcomes.

Diversity

Diversity relates to the differences that exist among a group of people. This is shown in terms of variations in culture and other considerations. In the case of Emilio diversity relates to the language whereby the learner has a limited grasp of the English language. Diversities in the learning environment can affect the learners as well as the approach used in the education process (Decelle & Sherrod, 2011). For this reason, the strategy that was used in this case sought to ensure that information is presented in a form that is easily understandable considering the limited proficiency in the mainstream language.

Teaching Strategies

Icebreakers

Icebreakers allow learners to know each other and learn together. It helps learns to understand the reason for their enrolment into the program of new skills acquisition (Herrman, 2011). In diabetes management education, the nurse educator can initiate the patients in the education programs by creating icebreaker activities that involve helping juvenile learners and their parents to interact with each other. For diabetes management program nurse educators should develop a community of learners for long-term learning and also helps create a support group for the patients. For learners that are struggling to catch up with others, icebreaking allows them to interact with learners who are different from them hence increasing the chances of benefitting from those that well versed in the area of study. For people like Williams, icebreaking creates a platform of sharing with fellow orientees. According to acquisition (Herrman, 2011), nursing groups that are being oriented can benefit from icebreaking as it allows them to share previous experiences as nurses thereby fostering close working relationships that are beneficial to all members of the group.

Formation of Small Group Studies

Studying together can be helpful to learners. For instance, it helps them to benefit from each other's knowledge and skills. This is achieved through discussions and reflections among the groups. The advantage with this strategy is that small groups allow educators to give adequate attention to learners (Herrman, 2011). This strategy can be effective in addressing the situation of Emilio. Putting him in small study groups would assist him through close interactions with others and such associations would make him confident about his ability to learn despite the language issue.

Preceptor Training

Preceptor training enables the leaner to acquire practical skills under a nurse educator. The preceptor is given a check list of skills that are supposed to be taught and use such checklist. New employees are trained and encouraged to critically evaluate situations and solve nursing problems (Davidson, 2009). In the case of Williams, subjecting her to this method of learning can help her get the right commitment to deal with cases of Type 1 diabetes as well as get accustomed to adolescent diabetes patients such as Webster. The technique involves a process that values learners and evidence suggests that new employees often feel accepted quickly in the workplace when it is used (Davidson, 2009). This is very relevant in inducting Williams as it would enable her come to terms with the new workplace environment.

Evidence-Based Practices for Classroom and Learner Management

When educators use evidence-based practices in management of learners, they employ techniques that are supported by empirical evidence. Evidence-based practice in nursing involves the use of current scientific evidence in designing teaching programs for nursing professionals (Kalb et al., 2015). These practices include learner active engagement, teaching while monitoring and offering reinforcements, and building supportive social networks.

Active Engagement of Students in Observable Ways

Engaging students has a huge potential to make learn effectively. Engagement relates to how students participate actively (e.g. through questions and answers) and passively through listening to the educator. Applying this practice has been found to instill behaviors among students that stimulate learning. This is achieved by reducing incompatible behaviors among students besides making educators participate more in student learning activities (Simonsen et al., 2008). This is compatible with behaviorism as a theory of learning. This strategy was helpful in teaching the Websters about self-management behaviors of diabetes as well as in helping Emilio deal with his learning difficulties.

Teaching While Monitoring and Reinforcing the Expectations

This strategy entails defining the rules of engagement and ensuring that such rules are followed to bring about positive behavior change. What is critical in this strategy is that expectations are posed and taught to students and behaviors that are favorable to learning are repeatedly encouraged (Simonsen et al., 2008). For instance, the use of CATs has been found to have a significantly positive impact on the learning of nurses. CATs give feedback and assessments which are crucial for reinforcing favorable learning behaviors (Simpson-Beck, 2011). The strategy can be helpful in addressing learning challenges experienced by Emilio. Besides, the strategy is relevant to the social learning theory was helpful in solving the case of Webster. The reinforcement and punishment aspect of the social learning theory makes it one of the ideal education theories in the situation. Rewarding behaviors for children with juvenile diabete...