Assessment of Learning Needs and Readiness to Learn
As Mr. Ahmed was admitted with dehydration and hypokalemia, educating the patient on the medication required for intake is crucial. The patient was prescribed sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim combination, and potassium chloride (KCL) to improve the symptoms and treat the illness. The patient is unaware of medication, its purpose, use, and dosage. He demonstrated a complete lack of knowledge of his condition and possible treatment.
The barriers to this patient’s learning could include his current health state. The patient still experiences irritability and mild drowsiness. These symptoms may present a challenge in educating the patient, as it may be hard for him to process the information. Therefore, patience and care are required in dealing with the patient.
Listening and talking through all the patient’s questions helped him understand the intake instruction. Also, explaining the purpose and effects of the medications facilitated his motivation to follow the instruction. According to Shaw et al., visualizing the information on the prescription is extremely important for educating the patients. Thus, the visualizer in the form of an intake schedule was extremely helpful for the patient to remember the dosage. Moreover, I left this schedule with the patient for him to refer to it in case of any doubts.
Planning: Learning Outcomes Identification
This plan is designed for educating the patient on the medication, and thus its outcomes go as follows:
- The main desired learning outcome is the patient’s understanding of the medication intake instructions, shown through accurate verbalization.
- Other effects include the patients’ increased motivation to follow these instructions based on realizing their purpose.
Planning: Teaching Methods
The basics of teaching methods include talking with the patient about the purpose of medication and its effects, demonstrating the intake instruction, and discussing these instructions. The patient must intake sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim combination every twelve hours and potassium chloride (KCL) once with the check of potassium levels in six hours. Thus, I explained the medication effects and instructions to the patient, answered all questions, and addressed concerns. I also tried to address how the medication would help treat and eliminate his illness and symptoms. As a result, the patient demonstrated greater engagement and willingness to listen and remember the instructions. The overall teaching time was around ten minutes.
Implementation
The basic information provided to the patient includes:
- The medication, its aims, and effects
- Sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim combination is an antibiotic to eliminate bacteria and clear out the infection and inflammation. This medication is well-suited to treating the patient’s symptoms. On the other hand, potassium chloride (KCL) is aimed at restoring the normal potassium level in the blood and treating the patient’s hypokalemia.
- The medication intake schedule and instructions
- I explained the instructions, showing the visual table and leaving it for the patient’s use. I also stressed the necessity of drinking plenty of water required for the intake of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim combination, considering the patient’s dehydration. I further emphasized the need for the potassium level check six hours after potassium chloride (KCL) consumption.
Evaluation
The evaluation method primarily consists of checking on the patient, ensuring the medication intake, and his provision of the materials for potassium blood levels. After the explanation, I checked on the patient at the scheduled medication intake time, and he accomplished the procedure using the visualizer. The patient demonstrated the ability to take the medication correctly and pass the potassium levels test.
Works Cited
Shaw, Clarissa, Kristine N. Williams, and Yelena Perkhounkova. “Educating nursing home staff in dementia sensitive communication: Impact on antipsychotic medication use.” Journal of the American Medical Directors Association vol. 19, no. 12, 2018, pp. 1129-1132.
