Sunday, 8 January 2017

Merits Of Using Patient Education Handouts In Instruction

By Matthew Thomas


Medical professionals need to be proactive in getting the relevant information to patients concerning promotion of health and prevention of diseases. It is not a time to leave them in the dark on matters which can cause death. There are various ways through which this can be done. Using patient education handouts is a sure way.

You can get the message across better when you write it down. The learners can remind themselves latter. The spoken word can be forgotten easily. Also, you will be able to go into details compared to when you are using slide shows.

You will be better off explaining technical and even complex issues on paper. Also, there is the option to color, highlight and bold what you want to remain in the minds of the learners. Also, your contact information, collateral materials, marketing literature, references and even case studies can be fixed in the handout.

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.

You should not be reluctant on professionalism just because you have the option to type the details. Use font size which does not strain the eyes to read. Also, use black ink on white background unless you are working under special circumstances. Varying your presentation styles is important.

You should be careful not to go overboard with the styling. Do not include so many designs and colors to make the materials look absurd. Just include what is required. You can check with other professionals on what is acceptable. Some can even help you with standard templates for this purpose.

You need to make sure the people you will be educating can read and understand the information you want to pass across. Do not go on with the production process if they will be of no use to the patients. In addition, moderate the language to suit the average person who does not have a lot of information on medicine.

You need to ensure that the copies are enough for everyone attending the discussion. Also, have extra ones so that you can cater for those who decide to attend at the last minute. It will be hectic to start running up and down to print more when you can fix this before you start. Also, ensure you have all the information and skills needed to make the discussion a success. You should not give irrelevant information. No one will take you seriously after that.




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