Vagina or Penis:
Medications:
As mentioned earlier in this chapter, patient education (health education) is an essential part of the health care delivery system. In the Navy Medical Department, patient education is defined as the process that informs, motivates, and helps people to adapt and maintain healthful practices and life styles. Specifically, the goals of this process are:
All health care providers, whether they recognize it or not, are teaching almost constantly. Teaching is a unique skill that is developed through the application of principles of learning. Patient teaching begins with an assessment of the patients knowledge. Through this assessment, learning needs are identified. For example, a diabetic patient may have a need to learn how to self-administer an injection. After the learners needs have been established, goals and objectives are developed. Objectives inform the learner of what kind of (learned) behavior is expected. Objectives also assist the health care provider in determining how effective the teaching has been. These basic principles of teaching/learning are applicable to all patient-education activities, from the simple procedure of teaching a patient how to measure and record his or her fluid intake/output to the more complex programs of behavior modification in situations of substance abuse (i.e., drug or alcohol) or weight control.
As a member of the health care team, you share a responsibility with all other members of the team to be alert to patient education needs, to undertake patient teaching within the limitation