Deck 2: Patient Teaching and Health Literacy

Question 1

It is important for the nurse and the patient to communicate effectively.The inability of a patient to read and write can interfere with effective communication and place him or her in "health disparity." Which of the following factors can help the patient's treatment plan?

A) Teaching the patient to read and write
B) Teaching the patient about his or her drugs and disease process
C) Teaching the patient to call the drug company for information about prescription drugs
D) Giving instructions only in written form

Answer 1

Teaching the patient about his or her drugs and disease process

Question 2

The nurse is teaching a patient with a new diagnosis of hypothyroidism.The patient is anxious and fears gaining weight with this condition.Which of the following will help this patient's learning process?

A) Allow the patient to go home and read the information.
B) Let the patient watch television for 2 hours before teaching.
C) Give the teaching sessions in a systematic manner.
D) Only tell the patient what he wants to hear.

Answer 2

Give the teaching sessions in a systematic manner.

Question 3

The nurse is planning the teaching/learning objectives for a patient who comes into the clinic to learn about hormonal therapy and is experiencing stress.Which of the following will help the patient's learning process?

A) Covering as many topics as possible at one time
B) Timing the teaching to coincide with visiting hours
C) Teaching the patient while a favorite television program is playing in the background
D) Systematic teaching in a quiet,unhurried setting

Answer 3

Systematic teaching in a quiet,unhurried setting

Question 4

Researchers in patient education have suggested that which of the following efforts are useful for nurses to follow to increase a patient's medication compliance?

A) Short verbal responses are easy to learn.
B) Limited visual material with more verbal responses may be helpful.
C) Flash cards are very useful for visualization.
D) A variety of teaching methods,including written information and audiotapes,are useful.

Question 5

A patient comes into the clinic and is started on a new antihypertensive medication.In the past,this patient has not been taking his medication on a daily basis as per the drug treatment plan.Which of the following strategies should the nurse use to get him to take the prescribed medication?

A) Tell the patient he needs to follow the plan of care.
B) Tell the patient he will have a stroke if he doesn't take his medication.
C) Discuss with the patient the reasons that he is not taking his medication.
D) Tell the patient he will have to see a doctor to get more medication.

Question 6

The nurse is teaching a patient from a general teaching plan that has been set up for all patients with type 2 diabetes.Which of the following should be the nurse's first consideration if this patient is unable to perform her blood glucose test without assistance?

A) The patient has not accepted her diagnosis.
B) The patient feels the test strip is wrong for testing her blood.
C) The patient is having problems understanding the process.
D) The learning objectives should be less specific for this patient.

Question 7

The nurse and other health care providers are legally obligated to provide which of the following kinds of information to the patient for the purpose of informed consent?

A) A lot of technical and scientific information
B) Legal information for the patient and family
C) Reasonable specifics
D) Information in the patient's own language and jargon

Question 8

A teaching plan is scheduled to deliver specific content during a session.Which of the following is the appropriate response to unrelated but important questions interrupting the planned content of the session?

A) A quick response is acceptable during the session.
B) The plan must be closely followed with no interruptions.
C) Interruptions are only allowed at break time.
D) Unrelated content questions can only be answered at the end of the session.

Question 9

Television ads that are created by drug companies cannot always answer patients' questions.Which of the following is the term for television ads created for patients?

A) Direct-to-consumer advertising
B) Direct visual teaching advertising
C) Limited-content advertising
D) Limited-focus advertising

Question 10

The nurse is teaching a patient about her oral diabetic medication that is taken daily.The patient has specific goals that have been set with regard to glucose control.Which of the following specific learning objectives would be a teaching guide for this patient?

A) Take blood sugar with fingerstick at 12 noon and repeat at supper daily.
B) Fingerstick glucose will be 85 mg/dL to 125 mg/dL 2 hours after meals daily.
C) Fingerstick blood sugar will be normal after breakfast and lunch daily.
D) Blood sugar will be normal before breakfast and lunch and after supper daily.

Question 11

A patient begins medication therapy for hypertension.Which of the following reasons is most likely to make the scheduled teaching plan change for this patient?

A) The patient's outlook for his condition changes.
B) The patient writes down some of the information.
C) The patient has no questions after being taught.
D) The patient's systolic blood pressure falls below 60 mm Hg with therapy.

Question 12

The nurse needs to teach a patient about the side effects of a medication he or she is taking.By which of the following means will the nurse know whether the patient has learned the information he or she needs to know about their medication?

A) The patient can repeat the information.
B) The patient learns the information in his or her mind.
C) The patient remembers most of the information given.
D) The patient is selective with the information given.

Question 13

A patient is a newly diagnosed diabetic who has been incorrectly taking the medication prescribed.Which of the following is the most likely reason?

A) The patient feels the dose of medication is not enough.
B) The patient feels the dose of medication is too much.
C) The patient does not understand the medication dosage.
D) The patient cannot swallow the medication.

Question 14

The term concordance is sometimes preferred over compliance or noncompliance when speaking of a patient following a prescribed plan of care for which of the following reasons?

A) It is judgmental.
B) It is nonjudgmental.
C) It is caring.
D) It is uncaring.

Question 15

The nurse is teaching an elderly man who has hearing challenges.Which of the following would be the best way to help this patient meet those challenges?

A) Speak loudly into the patient's ear.
B) Give the information to the patient's family.
C) Stand to the patient's side and speak normally.
D) Give the patient written information.

Question 16

Poor literacy is a problem that interferes with a patient's ability to deal with the health care setting.Which of the following can contribute to a patient's literacy problems?

A) The patient is hearing-impaired.
B) The patient cannot read health content.
C) The patient's family is not involved.
D) The patient lives alone.

Question 17

The nurse is teaching a patient about blood pressure control along with diet and weight reduction.Which of the following would reassure the nurse that the patient understands this learning session?

A) The patient takes a few notes.
B) The patient repeats back some of the information given.
C) The patient is on time for every teaching session.
D) The patient takes his blood pressure and weighs himself.

Question 18

When giving the patient key written information about her discharge,the nurse will include which of the following?

A) Prescriptions written by the physician
B) The questionnaire found at the bedside
C) The unit-dose package given at discharge
D) Drug inserts and booklets prepared for medications

Question 19

An elderly patient tells the nurse she is unable to read some of the instructions about her medication.The nurse's first response is to do which of the following?

A) Give the patient verbal instructions for the medication.
B) Read the instructions with the patient then have her repeat them back to the nurse.
C) Stop the medication until the patient can get an appointment in the clinic.
D) Do nothing and tell the patient to take the medication as prescribed.

Question 20

The nurse used a combination of spoken and written information to teach a patient about the medications she will be taking when she leaves the hospital.Which of the following is another teaching resource available to the patient that can provide her with the latest information once she is home?

A) A direct phone number to an on-call nurse
B) A Web site's navigational address
C) All written informational material in a neat folder
D) A list of journal articles with direct information

Question 21

When a patient is first diagnosed with a disease,education should start with which of the following?

A) Describing what has gone wrong and what is likely to happen
B) Determining why the problem took so long to develop
C) Deciding who caused this problem
D) Discussing what the patient should have done differently

Question 22

When teaching a patient about his or her plan of care,which of the following will confirm for the nurse that learning has taken place?

A) Ask the patient if he or she understands the information.
B) Have the patient repeat the information learned.
C) Allow the patient to take the lead.
D) Let the patient evaluate his or her own level of learning.

Question 23

Health literacy is a problem for which of the following reasons? (Select all that apply. )

A) Age and lack of financial resources
B) Inability to read a map
C) Inability to read a prescription
D) Little knowledge of diseases

Question 24

Basic reasons a treatment plan may be ineffective include which of the following? (Select all that apply. )

A) Goal content focuses on medical facts.
B) Goal content is not in a handout.
C) Goal content has four objectives.
D) Goal content focuses on behavior.

Question 25

Patients may have difficulty in meeting treatment goals for which of the following reasons? (Select all that apply. )

A) Lack of understanding of the goals
B) Incongruity between patient and nursing goals
C) Compliance with all aspects of the treatment plan
D) Limited financial resources

Question 26

Factors that may contribute to patient medication errors include which of the following? (Select all that apply. )

A) Only two objectives,instead of four,are included in the treatment plan discussed with the patient.
B) The nurse fails to provide the patient with information about both the desirable effects and the possible side effects of prescribed medication so that he or she can make an informed decision about the treatment plan.
C) Medication-related teaching materials sent home with the patient are written at above the eighth-grade reading level,or contain long sentences and medical terms rather than common or familiar words.
D) The nurse gives patients with new prescriptions verbal instructions only,rather than talking to patients and giving them written information or talking to patients along with showing audiovisual aids.

Question 27

Which of the following is an essential step in the patient-teaching process? (Select all that apply)

A) Develop a variety of teaching strategies.
B) Assess the specific needs of the patient.
C) Select the teaching method.
D) Assess the patient's willingness to learn.
E) None of above

Question 28

The nurse is teaching the patient an activity he needs to learn by the time this teaching session is over.Which of the following objectives for this patient clarifies that learning has taken place?

A) The patient's face shows understanding while the nurse is explaining.
B) The patient smiles after each instruction is given during the teaching session.
C) The patient describes the information at the end of the session.
D) The patient looks the nurse directly in the face during the session.

Question 29

The LPN is teaching a patient about the side effects of her hypertension medication.Research has shown that the nurse should tell the patient about all the side effects of this medication for which of the following reasons?

A) Medications are hard to recognize by color and shape only.
B) Patients want to be able to discuss their medications.
C) Patients must be able to recognize side effects correctly.
D) Medication names are easier to pronounce.

Question 30

There are three patients in the class the nurse is teaching about insulin injections.Two of the patients have demonstrated the ability to draw up and inject the insulin correctly.One patient has problems drawing up the insulin and injecting the medication after it is in the syringe.Which of the following represents the next step the nurse could take to meet this patient's learning needs?

A) Teach a family member to do the injections.
B) Teach each activity separately on different days.
C) Show the patient a film on giving injections.
D) Let the patient read about each activity,then do the procedures together.

Question 31

The nurse talks with a clinic patient by phone and discover she is not taking her medication as she was instructed.The patient was given only verbal instructions in her teaching session.The nurse should now have the patient do which of the following?

A) Listen to the nurse as he or she repeats the instructions by phone.
B) Call every day,and the nurse will repeat the instructions until learned.
C) Return to the clinic to receive other teaching methods.
D) Have a family member take the instructions by phone.