Orem's Self-Care Deficit Theory of Nursing forms the basis for patient education and involves developing a teaching plan and action plan tailored to each patient. The teaching plan provides background and instructions while the action plan outlines steps for achieving health goals. Effective patient education assesses physical, emotional, motivational, and cultural factors influencing a patient's readiness to learn. Teaching is evaluated to ensure patient understanding, and benefits include reduced costs, improved satisfaction and safety.

1. Patient Teaching
Improving Outcomes. Improving Lives.
by:
Christine, Derek, Ken, Roy, & Stacey

2. Dorothea Orem (1914-2007)
Orem developed the Self-Care Deficit
Theory of Nursing, which is composed of
three interrelated theories:
(1) the theory of self-care,
(2) the self-care deficit theory, and
(3) the theory of nursing systems.
One of the bases of Patient Education is Orem’s Self-
Care Theory.

3. Health Education Goals
Objectives:
 Promote healthy choices and lifestyles
 Maintenance of health
 Restoration of health in the event of an
illness or accident
 Adaptation to the residual effects of an
illness or accident
 Provide patient teaching in a timely and
relevant manner
 Reduce healthcare costs
 Encourage the patient to become at
least partially responsible for their own
care

4. Teaching begins Upon Arrival
Patient teaching should begin upon arrival, continue
throughout the patient’s stay, and be fully summarized at
the time of discharge. Patient education and teaching is
an essential, ongoing component of patient care.

5. Patient Teaching Plan
To educate your patient, first develop a teaching plan
based on your patient’s condition. In most hospital or
clinic settings, this is a simple point-and-click application
that can be tailored to individual patients.

6. Patient Education
Patient education should be comprised of two parts –
the Teaching Plan and the Action Plan.
The Teaching Plan gives the patient the background and
information needed to comprehend the medications,
treatments, restrictions, or the objectives that must be
met in order to have a successful outcome. The Action
Plan gives the patient the route he or she can take to get
to that successful outcome.
As with many interventions nurses perform, we need to
assess our patient first.

7. Assess the Patient’s Readiness to Learn
PHYSICAL READINESS
To provide a more effective learning experience for the
patient, try to alleviate physical distress such as pain or
discomfort prior to the teaching.
Also, ensure the physical
environment is as free of
distractions as possible to
help promote learning.
Involve family members,
spouse, or friend if
requested by the patient.

8. Assess the Patient’s Readiness to Learn
In some patient’s with life threatening
conditions, emotional readiness will
only occur after the patient has
progress through some of the stages
of grief – Denial, Anger, Bargaining,
Depression, and Acceptance.
When educating your patient, be careful
not to overwhelm the patient with volumes
of information, but be concise, accurate,
and relevant. Be aware of your patient’s
emotions.
EMOTIONAL READINESS

9. Assess the Patient’s Readiness to Learn
MOTIVATIONAL READINESS
The motivation to learn depends on many factors,
including the acknowledgement of the need to learn,
and acceptance that the disease or illness is a threat to
the patient’s health.
Encourage the patient with constructive feedback and
participating in setting new goals.
To facilitate motivational
readiness, promote an
atmosphere that is non-
judgmental, accepting, and open
to cultural practices.

10. Assess the Patient’s Values
CULTURAL VALUES
To have a better outcome, educate
yourself and be culturally sensitive to your
patient. Some cultures practice
alternative forms of medicine, and your
patient may want to incorporate those
practices into their plan of care.
SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE VALUES
When developing a teaching plan, address your patient‘s
current social and lifestyle. Educate about unhealthy
practices, and reinforce or encourage healthy practices.

11. Promoting a Successful Outcome
Many patients have trouble taking the
actions they need to maintain their health
and to help manage their health conditions.
An action plan, created by the patient and
the nurse, outlines steps the patient can
take to attain a larger health goal such as
quitting smoking or losing weight.
Action plans help patients integrate these
steps or health behavior changes into their
daily lives to achieve their goal, and they
allow for patients to be actively involved in
their own care.

12. Patient Action Plan
Sample Plan of Action:

13. Evaluate your Teaching
A teaching plan can be well-
written, however, it is ineffective if
the patient and/or the patient’s
family does not understand it.
Even some of the smartest people
have trouble understanding
medical processes.
Keep it simple. Put terms in everyday language – for
example, use “pill” instead of medication, “cream”
instead of ointment, and “use” instead of utilize.
Check for accuracy, i.e., such as resources have correct
telephone numbers and addresses.

14. Evaluate your Teaching
A key component to determine if patient teaching is
effective is to have the patient explain the information
you gave them back to you in their own words.
Another component to determine the effectiveness of
patient teaching is the number of readmissions due to
patient misunderstanding of medications and treatment.

15. Benefits of Patient Education
 Reduced Medical Costs
o Healthier lifestyles
o Better compliance
 Increased Patient Satisfaction
o Faster recovery time
o Less visits to the provider
 Increased Patient Safety
o Less injuries due to patient lack of knowledge
• Medication errors
• Compliance with treatment
• What to look for

16. References
Adams, R. J. (2010, October 12). Risk
Management and Healthcare Policy. Retrieved
from Dove Press:
http://www.dovepress.com/improving-health-
outcomes-with-better-patient-understanding-and-
educat-peer-reviewed-article-RMHP
Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and
Nursing. (2012). Medical Dictionary. Retrieved
from The Free Dictionary by Farlex: http://medical-
dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/patient+education