Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Merits Of Using Patient Education Handouts In Instruction

By Matthew Thomas


You can make a high impact in the lives of your patients by educating them on how to keep their well-being and health at the better extreme of the continuum. To do this effectively, they need to get the information on how to maintain high standards of health. This can be done through patient education handouts.

You can go into details through the written word when it comes to explaining. You ought to know what to consider in choosing the mode of message delivery. Slides are presentable but not ideal for a lot of information unless you want to make a lot of them.

When the item you are explaining is complex and technical then you will be better off typing it. You can even highlight or bold the key points so that the reader can give it special attention. You can also include details on how they can contact you, references and case study. Collateral materials and marketing literature are also useful.

Patients will not go out of their way to review research journals in the medical field or even read the big books on medicine. Therefore, you need to find a way to deliver the message in these books to them in a simple way. Through handouts, you can present the key issues in a summary form. In addition, you have to think about the best time to give them the handouts depending on what you are teaching. Ensure they have the copies before the class starts if there are things you cannot explain to them blindly.

Just because the information is typed does not mean that the leaflets do not have to be professional. Make sure you have followed the proper guidelines in preparing them. The font should be easy on the eyes and the color you use in printing. Also, use style variations to separate titles and the general notes.

You have to take care not to overdo styling. Colors and designs need to be used appropriately. If you realize that there is too much styling then you have to edit the document again. Ensure only what is essential is done. You can ask other professors on how to do better in this. There are others who have standard templates to paste the information in.

Ensure your attendees are at a level where they can understand the manner through which you have presented the information. Also, the language should be simple. You will be working for nothing if you are presenting handouts which are below or above the level of the learners.

You ought to produce enough copies so that everyone gets the document. To avoid problems, get the exact number of the patients who will be participating in the session. It is advisable to have extra copies in case some people who were included join you. It will be easier to hand them out instead of excusing yourself to make more copies. Good preparation is crucial before any lesson starts. You need to have great instruction skills so as to deliver the intended message well. Educating your patients on matters affecting their health is not a matter to be taken lightly.




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