I have found that nursing is a highly integrated 'teaching' profession. The emphasis to 'teach' the patient about their health, teach the public about communicable diseases, teach students about normal maturation and teach the novice nurse as a role model have been closely woven in our profession. I recently heard a highly respected cardiologist at a conference make the profound statement, " we did a study and concluded that congested heart failure patients do better when taught about their disease". Okay, I wanted to get into a debate but held my tongue and rolled my eyes.
I cannot envision a role in nursing that does not involve teaching. I am not sure all nurses are teachers but I know that my baccalaureate coursework had us on 'index cards' provide patient education on everything we did that would involve direct contact with the patient. I know that patients appreciate this aspect of our profession. A frequent comment by patients is that "you take the time to explain what it is and what you want to do".
We have at our disposable so many technologies to expand our abilities to be effective teachers. I have added a link that may be interesting for those who use PDA's I phones or other sources of mobile devices. Enjoy.
Mobile device link
You raise very good point, and I was hoping you would get into the debate so we can read more of your thoughts. Yes, I agree we have technology and it has expanded how we teach and learn. Nice job with your blog and link.
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