Nurse Patient Education

Nurse Patient Educator Program Article on Cholesterol

Posted on by Mark Moran

Cholesterol is a silent killer in America.  Many Americans die of heart disease caused by high and unhealthy levels of cholesterol.  It is important to understand dangerous cholesterol numbers and adapt diet and exercise to reduce cholesterol.  It is also important to know what causes higher cholesterol.  Only by regular blood tests and doctor checkups can one learn if cholesterol is an issue in one’s life.

Nurse Patient Educators can help educate patients about the dangers of high cholesterol. Please also review AIHCP’s Nurse Patient Education Certification

 

The article, “Everything You Need to Know About High Cholesterol” from Healthline takes a closer look at cholesterol and answers many of the basic questions.  The article states,

“If you’re age 20 years or older, the American Heart Association recommends getting your cholesterol levels checked at least once every four to six years. If you have a history of high cholesterol or other risk factors for cardiovascular disease, your doctor may encourage you get your cholesterol levels tested more often.”

To read the entire article, please click here

Regular check ups, exercise and good diet are critical to good cholesterol numbers.  Please also review AIHCP’s Nurse Patient Educator Program.  Nurse Educators play a pivotal role in helping patients understand their condition and how to better cope and live a more healthy life.  The program is online and independent study and opened to qualified nurses seeking a four year certification in Nurse Patient Education.

 

Nursing Patient Education News – Tracking Medical Records

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Delicate Info: How Can Patients Track Their Medical Records for Better Health?

By – Rachelle Wilber 

Topic – Nursing Patient Education

Doctors usually have too many patients to keep a close eye on any individual’s medical records over time. Rather than relying on your doctor to track your records for better health, you can do it yourself. These four options provide you with different solutions to tracking your medical records and improving your overall health.

Personal Health Binders

Setting up your own personal health binder is a simple process and does not require the use of any technology. Choose a sturdy, three-ringed binder and label it with a title such as “health records.” You can use dividers to separate the binder’s contents into sections, such as procedures, tests and general checkups. When you visit the doctor, ask the office staff to print out your visit summaries and lab test results. Use a three-hole puncher to make holes into the left side of the printouts. Insert your printouts into the binder as desired. When you want to track your medical records, just refer to your binder. This is a helpful solution if you have different doctors that are not connected to each other through an electronic network or if you prefer to bring your medical history with you to your medical exams.

Patient Access Portals

Many medical provider networks offer electronic patient access portals. With portal access, you can log into your account and track each visit’s procedures and diagnoses. These portals also feature sections for your laboratory test results and your active prescriptions. This allows you to track you results over time and get a picture of your overall health. The portal access is encrypted to protect your confidential information. Many electronic portal services allow you to check on the date of your next appointment, send your doctor a message or request a prescription refill.

Using Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel is a powerful spreadsheet program that can be used on your home computer to track your medical records. You can use Excel to sort rows and columns, create charts and develop graphs to monitor your health situation. For example, if you are diabetic and check your A1C and daily blood sugar level results, you can monitor your test results over time. Microsoft Excel reporting tools can also be used for health record reporting. Physicians and office staff may use Excel to monitor symptoms and implement a watchful waiting or treatment program for you. Excel is also used in infectious disease reporting, such as if a patient develops a case of whooping cough, which is reportable to most local and state health departments. If you are skilled in data analysis, you can export Microsoft Excel spreadsheets in a .CSV format or a comma delimited format for in-depth analysis of your health.

Google Drive

Google Drive is free software that is accessible through the cloud. You can access it at any time by setting up your own Google account. It connects your email, a calendar, spreadsheets, word processing and other programs. With Google Drive, you can track your medical records by implementing your own spreadsheet. It allows you to perform basic calculations and sort by rows or columns in order to track your test results and visits. You can link the different parts of Google Drive together, such as updating your calendar with the next appointment and having it email you a reminder. There are storage limitations to Google Drive and its spreadsheet system is not as powerful as Microsoft Excel.

These four health-tracking solutions allow you to look in-depth at your health and take action for improvements. You can also use them to get an overview of your medical care. Consider using these systems to track the health of each person in your household.

 

Rachelle Wilber is a freelance writer living in the San Diego, California area. She graduated from San Diego State University with her Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Media Studies. She tries to find an interest in all topics and themes, which prompts her writing. When she isn’t on her porch writing in the sun, you can find her shopping, at the beach, or at the gym. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook: @RachelleWilber; https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009221637700

Nurse Patient Education Increases Patient Satisfaction.

Posted on by Dominick Flarey
Group of nurses on a roof top
Nurse Patient Education leads to higher patient satisfaction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Better Nurse Patient Education Could Lead to Better Patient Satisfaction.

The article, “Patient education improved satisfaction after surgery for ankle fracture”, by Mayich D. states

“The researchers analyzed 40 patients who had operative treatment for ankle fractures and were randomized to either an enhanced information group that received handouts with information from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons covering postoperative ankle fracture treatment and a pamphlet outlining standard physiotherapy at the institution or a standard group that did not receive the handouts.”

For the full article please go here.

Nurse Patient Education has shown improvement in ankle surgeries.   It might go without saying that a nurse educator could help improvement other areas in the medical field.    Because truth be told, the more we know about a medical procedure the more comfortable we are going to be about having it performed on us.
If you are a nurse and would like to learn more about earning a Nurse Patient Education certificate then you might want to come to our webpage.

Nurse Patient Education for Health Promotion

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Nurse Patient Education for Health Promotion

While health promotion, disease prevention and recovery information is extremely important in when providing nurse patient education, one cannot dismiss the importance of good teaching skills and motivational abilities. As a nurse educator, you will need to learn how to make good lesson plans, presentations, and patient learning objectives. You will also need to understand how to present these things with up to date technology. This may seem daunting to someone who was only a nurse but teaching like nursing is an art and science that can be learned through time. If you are already a nurse and feel a calling to teaching as well, then nurse patient education may be a field you may wish to enter. If qualified you can take courses at the American Institute of Health Care Professionals and become a certified nurse-patient educator and begin helping others in the area of health promotion and disease prevention.

A nurse helping her patient
Nurse Patient Education is about promoting better health!

If you are want to learn more about being a nurse patient educator then our site is an excellent place to start.


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