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Mr Drago Davic is a 70 year old patient in your ward who has recently been

prescribed the medication you researched in Question 4. Mr Davic needs


some education to ensure that he uses this medication safely. This question
asks you to describe HOW you will teach (think about issues related to the
patient [pain, hearing], environment [lighting, time of day], resources etc.),
NOT WHAT (THE CONTENT) YOU WILL TEACH. USING ADULT LEARNING
PRINCIPLES*

Patient education about drug therapy is an essential component of the nursing role. It is one of
the crucial elements that contribute to safe and high quality. So, in this case I needs to carefully
asses the learning needs of the patient because if he does not see any importance of learning new
knowledge or skill, the education will be ineffective (Russell). Therefore, according to Redondo,
Roco, Martn and Luis (2015) motivation is fundamental for any individual to achieve the
required results. So, I will assess the patients motivation and readiness to learn including the
factors that can elicit the patients participation in the educational program. Then, I will gather
data about the cognitive abilities of the client by asking him questions about his educational
background, level of understanding, knowledge and medication (book). Additionally, Russell
(2006) mentioned that any educators should be aware of patients experiences. So, I will ask him
if he took Paracetamol before this time and what are the precautions that he followed. In this way
I will take the opportunity to address any wrong information. Since the patient is an elderly
client, a through physical assessment is needed to identify any communication disabilities due to
hearing or visual impairments.

Furthermore, prioritize problems identified in the previous stage and formulating nursing
diagnosis such as deficient knowledge. After that, I will set attainable goals and outcomes with
the patient within a realistic time frame. For example, after two educational sessions, the patient
will be able to explain how to prevent toxicity of Paracetamol. Another component of the plan is
to choose the best time for elderly patient, which is usually in the morning (Hacalioglu,
2009) as well as choose a quiet place to avoid interruption.
In order to enhance patient learning the information given in the educational session should be
simple, concise, accompanied with different form of instructions (oral, written, pictures and
videos) and the nurse may need to include family member in the educational process. Lastly,
evaluate periodically the effectiveness of the intervention by asking patient simple questions and
encouraging patient to seek for clarifications.

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