Whether we realize it or not, all health care providers are teachers in some form or another. Whether it be in mentoring students, conducting research, or educating a patient and family about a new diagnosis, this is a skill used constantly throughout a range of roles and settings. Health information is meaningless unless it is communicated clearly and effectively, and we must therefore hone this skill carefully and constantly adapt our teaching to the learning style of our audience.
I am excited by the ever-growing teaching tools becoming available through technological advances. One effective tool I have seen many providers use is drawing a diagram or picture for the patient or student to explain a complicated or technical disease process, procedure, etc. Unfortunately, the majority of health care providers are not great artists, and so these drawings end up being fairly crude representations. Imagine an interactive application where you could literally show a patient the effects that diabetes or hypertension has on different organ systems. How might that affect their understanding of the importance of following a treatment regimen? These tools are evolving at a rapid pace, and will undoubtedly become more commonplace at the bedside in the future.
Pre-set presentations would streamline the process too, making sure that the key points were addressed. When I used to work on the internal medicine unit we had a MAWDS video that we showed to all 'heart patients'. It would be fun to build these kinds of presentations.
ReplyDeleteGreat comments! You state a very important point that "health information is meaningless unless it is communicated clearly and effectively". Effective communication is very critical in health care teaching and education. Interactive technology learning such as computer based training are excellent tools for teaching particularly when they are well designed and utilized.
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