NCLEX practice questions Chapter 25: Patient Education – Flashcards

ANS: B The goal of educating others about their health is to help individuals, families, or communities achieve optimal levels of health. Although all state Nurse Practice Acts acknowledge that patient teaching falls within the scope of nursing practice, this is the nurse's standard, not the goal of education. Patient education helps patients make informed decisions about their care and become healthier and more independent, not dependent. Nurses provide patients with information needed for self-care to ensure continuity of care from the hospital to the home.

ANS: C As a nurse, you are a visible, competent resource for patients who want to improve their physical and psychological well-being. In the school, home, clinic, or workplace, you promote health and prevent illness by providing information and skills that enable patients to assume healthier behaviors. Injured and ill patients need information and skills to help them regain or maintain their level of health; this is referred to as restoration of health. Not all patients fully recover from illness or injury. Many have to learn to cope with permanent health alterations; this is known as coping with impaired functions. Analogies supplement verbal instruction with familiar images that make complex information more real and understandable. For example, when explaining arterial blood pressure, use an analogy of the flow of water through a hose.

ANS: A Not all patients fully recover from illness or injury. Many have to learn to cope with permanent health alterations. New knowledge and skills are often necessary for patients and/or family members to continue activities of daily living. Teaching family members to help the patient with health care management (e.g., giving medications through gastric tubes, doing passive range-of-motion exercises) is an example of coping with long-term impaired functions. Injured and ill patients need information and skills to help them regain or maintain their levels of health. Some examples of this include teaching a woman who recently had a hysterectomy about her pathology reports and expected length of recovery and teaching a teenager with a broken leg how to use crutches. In childbearing classes, you teach expectant parents about physical and psychological changes in the woman and about fetal development; this is part of health maintenance.

ANS: D Teaching is most effective when it responds to the learner's needs. It is impossible to separate teaching from learning. Teaching is an interactive process that promotes learning. Teaching consists of a conscious, deliberate set of actions that help individuals gain new knowledge, change attitudes, adopt new behaviors, or perform new skills.

ANS: B Learning is the purposeful acquisition of new knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and skills. Complex patterns are required if the patient is to learn new skills, change existing attitudes, transfer learning to new situations, or solve problems. A new mother exhibits learning when she demonstrates how to bathe her newborn. A nurse presenting information and a primary care provider handing a pamphlet to a patient are examples of teaching. A family member listening to a lecture does not indicate that learning occurred; a change in knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and/or skills must be evident.

ANS: B If you still do not understand, ask again is part of the S portion of the Speak Up Initiatives. Speak up if you have questions or concerns. You (the patient) are the center of the health care team, not the nurse. Ask a trusted family member or friend to be your advocate (advisor or supporter), not a nurse. Medication errors are the most common health care mistakes, not inappropriate medical tests.

ANS: D Feedback should show the success of the learner in achieving objectives (i.e., the learner verbalizes information or provides a return demonstration of skills learned). The nurse is the sender. The patient is the receiver. The teaching is the message.

ANS: A Learning objectives describe what the learner will be able to do after successful instruction. Positive reinforcement follows feedback and involves the use of praise and acknowledgment of new attitudes, behaviors, or knowledge. Interpersonal communication is necessary for the teaching/learning process, but describing what the learner will be able to do after successful instruction constitutes learning objectives. Facts and knowledge will be presented in the teaching session.

ANS: B Cognitive learning includes all intellectual behaviors and requires thinking. In the hierarchy of cognitive behaviors, the simplest behavior is acquiring knowledge. The student nurse acquired knowledge, which is cognitive. Kinesthetic is a type of learner who learns best with a hands-on approach. Affective learning deals with expression of feelings and acceptance of attitudes, opinions, or values. Psychomotor learning involves acquiring skills that require integration of mental and muscular activities, such as the ability to walk or to use an eating utensil.

ANS: C Affective learning deals with expression of feelings and acceptance of attitudes, opinions, or values. Role play and discussion (one-on-one and group) are effective teaching methods for the affective domain. Lecture and question and answer sessions are effective teaching methods for the cognitive domain. Demonstration is an effective teaching method for the psychomotor domain.

ANS: A Self-efficacy, a concept included in social learning theory, refers to a person's perceived ability to successfully complete a task. Motivation is a force that acts on or within a person (e.g., an idea, an emotion, a physical need) to cause the person to behave in a particular way. An attentional set is the mental state that allows the learner to focus on and comprehend a learning activity. Learning occurs when the patient is actively involved in the educational session.

ANS: C Use play to teach a procedure or activity (e.g., handling examination equipment, applying a bandage to a doll) to toddlers. Encouraging independent learning is for the middle-aged adult. Use of discussion is for older children, adolescents, and adults, not for toddlers. Use problem solving to help adolescents make choices. Problem solving is too advanced for a toddler.

ANS: A Developmental and physical capabilities reflect one's ability to learn. Sociocultural background and motivation are factors in readiness to learn. Psychosocial adaptation to illness and active participation are factors in readiness to learn. Readiness to learn is related to the stage of grieving. Overall physical health does reflect ability to learn; however, because it is paired here with stage of grieving (which is a readiness to learn factor), this is a wrong answer.

ANS: B The ideal environment for learning is a room that is well lit and has good ventilation, appropriate furniture, and a comfortable temperature. Although quiet is appropriate, a darkened room interferes with the patient's ability to watch your actions, especially when you are demonstrating a skill or using visual aids such as posters or pamphlets. A room that is cold, hot, or stuffy makes the patient too uncomfortable to focus on the information being presented. Learning in a group of six or fewer is more effective than in larger groups and avoids outburst behaviors.

ANS: C Motivation or readiness to learn sometimes results from social task mastery, or physical motives may be involved. Often patient motives are physical. Some patients are motivated to return to a level of physical normalcy. For example, a patient with a below-the-knee amputation is motivated to learn how to walk with assistive devices. Do not confuse readiness to learn with ability to learn. All the other answers are examples of ability to learn because this often depends on the patient's level of physical development and overall physical health. To learn psychomotor skills, a patient needs to possess a certain level of strength, coordination, and sensory acuity. For example, it is useless to teach a patient to transfer from a bed to a wheelchair if he or she has insufficient upper body strength. An older patient with poor eyesight or an inability to grasp objects tightly cannot learn to apply an elastic bandage or handle a syringe.

ANS: D The teaching process focuses on the patient's learning needs and willingness and capability to learn. Nursing and teaching processes are not the same. All the rest are components of the nursing process: Assess all sources of data and perform nursing care therapies

ANS: B Because health literacy influences how you deliver teaching strategies, it is critical for you to assess a patient's health literacy before providing instruction. The nursing process requires assessment of all sources of data to determine a patient's total health care needs. Evaluation of the teaching process involves determining outcomes of the teaching/learning process and the achievement of learning objectives, not patient care. Assessing the goal of meeting patient care is the evaluation component of the nursing process.

ANS: C Assessment is the first step of any teaching session, then diagnosing, planning, implementation, and evaluation. An effective assessment provides the basis for individualized patient teaching. Assessing what the adult patient currently knows improves the outcomes of patient education.

ANS: A Outcomes often describe a behavior that identifies the patient's ability to do something on completion of teaching such as will empty colostomy bag, or will administer an injection. Understand, learn, and know are not behaviors that can be observed or evaluated.

ANS: A Once you assist in meeting patient needs related to basic survival (how to give epinephrine), you can discuss other topics, such as nutritional needs and side effects of medications. For example, a patient recently diagnosed with coronary artery disease has deficient knowledge related to the illness and its implications. The patient benefits most by first learning about the correct way to take nitroglycerin and how long to wait before calling for help when chest pain occurs. Thus, in this situation, the patient benefits most by first learning about the correct way to take epinephrine. "The patient will learn about food labels" is not objective and measurable and is not correctly written.

ANS: C Three types of reinforcers are social, material, and activity. When a nurse works with a patient, most reinforcers are social and are used to acknowledge a learned behavior (e.g., smiles, compliments, words of encouragement). Examples of material reinforcers include food, toys, and music. Activity reinforcers rely on the principle that a person is motivated to engage in an activity if he or she has the opportunity to engage in a more desirable activity after completion of the task. The entrusting approach is a teaching approach that provides the patient the opportunity to manage self-care. It is not a type of reinforcement.

ANS: B Appropriate times to talk about food/diet changes during routine nursing care are at breakfast, lunch, and dinner times or when the patient is completing the menu. Many nurses find that they are able to teach more effectively while delivering nursing care. For example, while hanging blood, you explain to the patient why the blood is necessary and the symptoms of a transfusion reaction that need to be reported immediately. In this situation, because the teaching is about food, coordinating it with routine nursing care that involves food can be effective. At bedtime would be a good time to discuss routines that enhance sleep. At bath time would be a good time to describe skin care and how to prevent pressure ulcers. At medication time would be a good time to explain the purposes and side effects of the medication.

ANS: B Include the most important information at the beginning of the session for illiterate patients or patients with a learning disability. Also, use visual cues and simple, not complex, analogies when appropriate. Another technique is to frequently ask patients for feedback to determine whether they comprehend the information. Additionally, provide teaching materials that reflect the reading level of the patient, with attention given to short words and sentences, large type, and simple format (generally, information written on a fifth grade reading level is recommended for adult learners).

ANS: C Establishing a rapport is important for all patients, especially culturally diverse patients, before starting teaching sessions. Obtaining pictures of food, getting an interpreter, and referring to a dietitian all occur after rapport is established.

ANS: C Begin and end each teaching session with the most important information when teaching older adult patients. Also, if using written material, assess the patient's ability to read and use information that is printed in large type and in a color that contrasts highly with the background (e.g., black 14-point print on buff-colored paper). Avoid blues and greens because they are more difficult to see. Speak in a low tone of voice (lower tones are easier to hear than higher tones). Provide specific information in frequent, small (not large) amounts for older adult patients.

ANS: A To demonstrate mastery of the skill, have the patient perform a return demonstration under the same conditions that will be experienced at home or in the place where the skill is to be performed. Computer instruction is use of a programmed instruction format in which computers store response patterns for learners and select further lessons on the basis of these patterns (programs can be individualized). Computer instruction is a teaching tool, rather than an evaluation tool. Verbalization of steps can be an evaluation tool, but it is not as effective as a return demonstration when evaluating a psychomotor skill. The Cloze test, a test of reading comprehension, asks patients to fill in the blanks in a written paragraph

ANS: B Resources that specialize in a particular health need (e.g., wound care or ostomy specialists) are integral to successful patient education. A mental health specialist is helpful for emotional issues rather than for physical problems. A dietitian is a resource for nutritional needs. A wound care specialist provides complex wound care.

ANS: C Affective learning deals with expression of feelings and acceptance of attitudes, opinions, or values. Having the patient value healthy eating habits falls within the affective domain. Stating three facts or identifying two foods for a healthy snack falls within the cognitive domain. Cooking falls within the psychomotor domain

ANS: D A patient's reading level affects ability to learn. Reading level is often difficult to assess because patients who are functionally illiterate are often able to conceal it by using excuses such as not having the time or not being able to see. One way to assess a patient's reading level and level of understanding is to ask the patient to read instructions from an educational handout and then explain their meaning. Asking patients what they want to know identifies previous learning and learning needs and preferences; it does not assess ability to learn. Motivation is related to readiness to learn, not ability to learn. Just asking a patient if they feel strong is not as effective as actually assessing the patient's streng

ANS: A Kinesthetic learners learn best while they are moving and participating in hands-on activities. Demonstrations and role playing work well with these learners. Patients who are visual learners learn best when you use pictures and diagrams to explain information. Patients who prefer auditory learning are distracted by pictures and prefer listening to information (e.g., podcasts). Patients who learn best by reasoning logically and intuitively learn better if presented with a case study that requires careful analysis and discussion with others to arrive at conclusions.

ANS: A, B, C, F Patient education has long been a standard for professional nursing practice. All state Nurse Practice Acts acknowledge that patient teaching falls within the scope of nursing practice. Patient education is an essential component of providing safe, patient-centered care. It is important to document evidence of successful patient education in patients' medical records. Patient education is effective for children. Different techniques must be used with children. Creating a well-designed, comprehensive teaching plan that fits a patient's unique learning needs reduces health care costs, improves the quality of care, and ultimately changes behaviors to improve patient outcomes.

ANS: B, D, E Any condition (e.g., pain, fatigue) that depletes a person's energy also impairs his or her ability to learn, so the session should be postponed until the pain is relieved and the patient is rested. Postpone teaching when an illness becomes aggravated by complications such as a high fever or respiratory difficulty. A mild level of anxiety motivates learning. When patients are ready to learn, they frequently ask questions. When the patient enters the stage of acceptance, the stage compatible with learning, introduce a teaching plan.