Question 1

Which situation indicates to the nurse that the patient is ready to learn?

Accepted Answer

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 self-sufficiency;for example,a patient with a below-the-knee amputation is motivated to learn how to walk with assistive devices.Readiness to learn should not be confused with ability to learn.All the other answers are examples of ability to learn because the capabilities mentioned often depend 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.

Question 2

A nurse is asked about the goal of patient education.What is the nurse's best response?

Accepted Answer

The goal of educating people about their health is to help individuals,families,and communities achieve optimal levels of health.Although all provincial and territorial 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,not only in the hospital.

Question 3

A nurse is going to teach a patient about hypertension.Which action should the nurse implement first?

Accepted Answer

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

Question 4

A nurse wants the patient to begin to accept the chronic nature of diabetes.Which teaching technique should the nurse use to enhance learning?

Accepted Answer

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

Question 5

Which action best indicates that learning has occurred?

Accepted Answer

Learning is the purposeful acquisition of new knowledge,attitudes,behaviours,and skills.Complex patterns are involved in learning new skills,changing existing attitudes,transferring learning to new situations,and solving 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 demonstrate that learning occurred;a change in knowledge,attitudes,behaviours,or skills must be evident.

Question 6

Which factors should the nurse assess to determine a patient's ability to learn?

Accepted Answer

Developmental and physical capabilities reflect a person's ability to learn.Sociocultural background,motivation,psychosocial adaptation to illness,and active participation are factors in readiness to learn.Readiness to learn is also 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.

Question 7

The nurse is demonstrating to the patient how to put on antiembolism stockings.In the middle of the lesson,the patient asks,"Why have my feet been swelling?" The nurse stops and responds to the patient,adhering to which teaching principle?

Accepted Answer

The nurse who stops a demonstration of applying antiembolism stockings to answer a patient's question is following the teaching principle of timing.If the patient has a question,it is important to answer the question right away,so that the focus can return to the task being taught.Setting priorities is important for conserving the time and energy of the patient and nurse.A patient learns best on the basis of preexisting cognitive abilities and knowledge.Organizing teaching material means that the nurse considers the order in which to present the information.

Question 8

A student nurse learns that a normal adult heartbeat is 60 to 100 beats/minute.In which domain did learning take place?

Accepted Answer

Cognitive learning includes all intellectual behaviours and requires thinking.In the hierarchy of cognitive behaviours,the simplest behaviour 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.

Question 9

A nurse is teaching a group of healthy adults about the benefits of flu immunizations.Which purpose of patient education is the nurse fulfilling?

Accepted Answer

A nurse is a visible,competent resource for patients who want to improve their physical and psychological well-being.In the school,home,clinic,or workplace,nurses promote health and prevent illness by providing information and skills that enable patients to assume healthier behaviours.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,the nurse can use the analogy of the flow of water through a hose.

Question 10

A patient had a stroke and must use a cane for support.A nurse is preparing to teach the patient about the cane.Which learning objective/outcome is most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Outcomes refer to the patient's ability to do something on completion of teaching,such as will empty colostomy bag,or will administer an injection.Understanding,learning,and knowing are not behaviours that can be observed or evaluated.

Question 11

While preparing a teaching plan,the nurse describes what the learner will be able to accomplish after the teaching session.Which action is the nurse completing?

Accepted Answer

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 acknowledgement of new attitudes,behaviours,or knowledge.Interpersonal communication in general is necessary for the teaching/learning process and should be used in teaching.Facts and knowledge are presented in the teaching session.

Question 12

Which learning objective/outcome has the highest priority for a patient with life-threatening,severe food allergies that necessitate use of an EpiPen (epinephrine)?

Accepted Answer

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 with a recent diagnosis of coronary artery disease may have deficient knowledge related to the illness and its implications.The patient benefits most by first learning about the correct way to take nitroglycerine 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 specific enough.

Question 13

A nurse provides teaching about coping with long-term impaired functions.Which situation serves as the best example?

Accepted Answer

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 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 teaching them how to cope 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,expectant parents are taught about physical and psychological changes in the woman and about fetal development;this is part of health maintenance.

Question 14

Which statement indicates that the nurse has a good understanding of teaching/learning?

Accepted Answer

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 behaviours,or perform new skills.

Question 15

A nurse is preparing to teach a patient about heart failure.Which environment is best for patient learning?

Accepted Answer

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 can prevent outburst behaviours.

Question 16

When the nurse describes a patient's perceived ability to successfully complete a task,which term should the nurse use?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 17

A nurse is teaching the staff about nursing and teaching processes.During the teaching process,what should the nurse do?

Accepted Answer

The teaching process focuses on the patient's learning needs and willingness and capability to learn.Nursing and teaching processes are not the same.Assessing all sources of data and performing nursing care therapies are components of the nursing process.

Question 18

A nurse teaches a patient with heart failure about healthy food choices.The patient states that eating yogurt is better than eating cake.In this situation,which element represents feedback?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 19

A toddler is going to have surgery on the right ear.Which teaching method is most appropriate for this developmental stage?

Accepted Answer

Use play to teach a procedure or activity (e.g. ,handling examination equipment,applying a bandage to a doll)to toddlers.Independent learning is for adults.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.

Question 20

Which nursing action is most appropriate for assessing a patient's learning needs?

Accepted Answer

Because health literacy influences how you deliver teaching strategies,the nurse must 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.

Quiz 20: Patient Education