Introduction
Diet education for the hospitalized patient is often overlooked because no referral is made for education or the diet is related to an old diagnosis. It is sometimes difficult for the nurse to discern how much information to provide. Often patients are dealing with more urgent medical issues and cannot give full attention to learning a new diet. It is essential to let the amount of education be patient-guided to avoid overwhelming him or her. Using valuable time to teach an uninterested patient could result in missing an educational opportunity with a motivated patient. The best course of action is to:
1. inform the patient of the diet
2. be available for questions
3. provide basic written information
4. verbally emphasize a few memorable key points
5. provide contact information or refer the motivated patient to the dietitian.
Emphasizing a few key points is the crux of this learning module. For the purpose of this experience, we are referring to these points as "survival skills."
Survival skills are immediately useful, small pieces of knowledge patients can use at home. Then when he/she is medically and mentally ready, diet knowledge can be developed using the written material you have provided, and the patient can decide whether further education is desired. Complete nutritional education should be done on an outpatient basis where it is the main focus, without other urgent medical issues to hinder the learning process.
We hope you will find these survival skills useful. It is important to feel comfortable with the nutrition education you provide to your patients.
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