Importance Of Patient Teaching

Discovering The Importance Of Patient Teaching In My Nursing Practice
During this two years and a half in my nursing program, I have learned the importance and impact that patient teaching can have in patients and nurses. Throughout my interaction with patients during clinical rotations, I have put in practice the skills I have acquired in the classroom towards an effective interaction with patients. During this practicum, there were two special moments in which I had the opportunity to make a difference in a patient’s life.
The first experience occurred at the beginning of practicum while I was giving medication to this particular patient. After I finished with her meds, we started to have a conversation about her medical condition and it was there when I realized that this patient was in need of some teaching. She was explaining to me that she has been having seizures all her life and always wondering why she feels this metal taste in her mouth every time she is going to have one. I immediately realized …show more content…
According to a study written by Papadakos et al. (2014) better-informed patients have positive health outcomes. I would like to always incorporate this principle to my nursing practice. This gave me the opportunity to realize that patient education should be provided since the moment the patient arrives at the hospital. I have seen patients that have no idea of what their admitting diagnosis or medical condition means. Also, I have encountered patients that are not provided with effective pre and post op teaching. As a future nurse, I plan to put in practice what I learned and provide my patients with all the information they need. It is now that I see the rationale for what I was taught in the program about the teaching process. Unfortunately, the heavy workflow that nurses have makes very difficult for them to dedicate time to effectively teach their