What is the purpose of ...

Recently, someone posted the question on the LinkedIn site: “What is the purpose of patient education in hospitals? . . . I’m not sure how it fits into the hospitals business model. Is there an economic basis for it?” Some business-oriented administrators who are...

The words are familiar,...

The instructions for the email submission read: “No native files will be accepted.” Suddenly, I felt like I had a functional literacy problem. I understood the word “native.” I understood the word “files.” But I had no idea what a “native...

Health care communicati...

The Partnership for Clear Health Communication is encouraging patients to ask their doctors, nurses, and pharmacists these three questions: What is my main problem? What do I need to do? Why is it important to do this? You can read details of the Ask Me 3 program at http://www.npsf.org/askme3/for_patients.php They...

Has YouTube helped to c...

We used to think patients and families were spoiled by the quality of television and movies, and would not be interested in patient teaching videos made in-house. We thought they’d be so distracted by the poor camera work and lighting, they wouldn’t pay attention to the...

Let’s get rid of disc...

I’m wondering if we should even use the term “discharge teaching” any more. That implies we teach at discharge. Clearly, that’s the wrong time to teach – staff don’t have time, and patients just want to leave the hospital. Besides, the content of the education isn’t...

Physician: “Since we...

Physician: “Since we’re not reimbursed for education, maybe we shouldn’t provide it.” Yes, I actually heard a physician say patient and family education is not necessary, since it is not reimbursed by third party payers. Devil’s advocate or honest opinion? Does it matter? Interesting...

How can you get nurses ...

How can you get nurses to teach patients and families? I was asked this by a neonatal clinical nurse specialist. Here’s the response I sent her: Great question. How can you get nurses to teach? It depends on what the problem is. - Do they know how to teach? Have you measured...

The word is getting out...

Synergy Broadcast Systems has interviewed me for their blog. For my answers to these 3 questions, see Part 1 of 3: • What was your motivation for writing No Time to Teach? • What’s the most important thing a nurse can do to ensure they connect with the patient so that learning...

Another Challenge to Pa...

There are three kinds of facts: 1. The facts that don’t change, such as “we need oxygen to live.” 2. The facts that change all the time, such as the temperature outside. 3. The facts that we tend to think of as unchanging, but which actually change slowly. These slow-changing...

Using “No Time to Tea...

Health care providers don’t have time to study 400 page treatises. They need a summary of all the research findings how to teach patients most effectively and efficiently, that presents practical ways to apply these findings in an evidence-based practice. No Time to Teach: The...