Topic of the Essay Sample: Patient Education on Diabetes Management

Patient education today plays a significant role in the management of chronic conditions such as diabetes. In this case, Crystal and Mackenzie Webster will significantly benefit from a diabetes management course to ensure that they are aware of the situation, its management strategies, and dynamics. Diabetes management education can improve substantially Mackenzie health outcomes and limit possible complications. Diabetes education will establish the possible behavioral changes that will help Mackenzie to lead a good life with diabetes as well as best practices and the possible approaches to address health complications caused by Diabetes. Juvenile diabetes is a rare condition, and self-management solutions should be taught to the mother and the child. Parents of juvenile diabetes children play a central role in the management of the children health by providing the necessary environment that supports the condition.

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Learning Environment (Patient Learning Environment)

When a child is diagnosed with diabetes, a significant change occurs within the family, and there is a need for education to both the child and the parent. The education provides information that provides the parent and the child with strategies of dealing with the condition. Diabetes management is highly dependent on the management aspect. Diabetes education should be able to provide Crystal and Mackenzie with the necessary skills and knowledge to perform self-care, manage lifestyle changes, and manage the crisis that come with chronic diseases such as diabetes. Self-care occurs at home away from nurses and other healthcare providers, and there is a need for the educator to assess and understand the patient environment. Therefore, the patient management information should be adjusted to the individual needs of the family and child.

Learning Needs

Diabetes patient education involves lifestyle and dietary changes which should be reflected in the patient education content. In this case, the Mackenzie and her mother will be provided with the necessary education to ensure that Crystal Webster guides a daughter towards leading a healthy lifestyle to avoid the possibility of complications. Juvenile diabetes is a condition that can be managed using insulin shots as well as a change in lifestyle. In this case, the patient parent will highly be dependent on nurse educator trainer to educate her on how to help her daughter manage the problem at a low and sustainable cost because of her current financial problems.

Theory: Social Learning Theory

Based on the current learning environment which involves a child the social learning theory is the best approach that can be used to educate Crystal and Mackenzie on diabetes self-management. The theory posits that people can learn from each other and it is based on attention, memory, and motivation. The theory holds that human behavior is a continuous process that is affected by the interaction between behavioral, cognitive and environmental factors. The social learning theory enables the newly diagnosed diabetes patient to be able to learn from the experiences, success, and frustrations involved in living with diabetes (Curran, 2014). Self-determination in patient education is very important because it facilitates intrinsic motivation of the patient to live per the evidence-based behavior to lead a healthy life.

The social learning theory in patient education has its focus on the patient perceptions regarding their ability to implement the behaviors. Social learning theory aims at improving the self-efficacy of a diabetes patient which enables them to have the confidence to develop consistent self-care behavior. The social learning theory is a practical approach to patient education because diabetes management is behavioral. The theory agrees on the classical conditioning and operant conditions of the behaviorist theory and adds a mediating process and posits that behavior can be learned from the environment through observational learning (Curran, 2014). In this case of a child patient, the social learning theory should be useful because most children learn from the behavior of the parents.

The reinforcement and punishment aspect of the social learning theory also makes it the ideal education theory in the situation. A child can be able to imitate a certain behavior such as avoiding certain foods when they are aware of the benefits or the consequences. Rewarding behaviors for children with juvenile diabetes such as exercising are more likely to be followed compared to behaviors that lead to negative consequences. Therefore, the patient education should provide Crystal Webster with the approaches to enhance her daughter behavior within the available resources which will help the child to lead a healthy life. External reinforcement such as requiring the child to seek parent's approval before taking certain meals can significantly improve the child health and avoid taking meals that could worsen health conditions of an individual with diabetes. The diabetes education program will concentrate on creating greater attention on the required behaviors, use reinforcement methods to encourage retention and reproduction of the required behavior.

Potential Diversity

In the case of Crystal Webster and her daughter, Mackenzie the diversity in the learning environment is age and the social, economic status of the patients. The educator will need to plan for the education of a child who requires special attention and the parent who will be taking care of the child with juvenile diabetes. Diversities in the learning environment can affect the learners as well as the approach used in the education process (Decelle & Sherrod, 2011). For instance, Mackenzie is just 11 years old, and her learning capability will differ from that of her adult mother. Another important source of diversity that should be considered is the socioeconomic status of the parent in which the parent comes from a financially deprived background, and the management strategies that will be taught should meet her socioeconomic background to ensure high success. Therefore, the education plan should be able to overcome the diversities and address the needs of the individuals.

Evidence-Based Strategies to Manage Diversity Conflict in a Classroom

Age Diversity in Patient Education

In the learning environment of the patient education, the parent and the child will participate which creates an age-based conflict that will affect the learning process and the content choice. The learning ability of the child and the parent significantly differ and should be considered when creating the patient education content.

Identification of each Learner's Needs

It is essential for the nurse educator to assess the individual needs of the Crystal and Mackenzie to ensure that their individual needs regarding the teaching strategy are addressed. In this case, Mackenzie will only benefit from a simple education program that is practical to ensure that she is conditioned to lead a certain lifestyle (Curran, 2014). The learning needs between the parents will be different based on their understanding of vocabulary. Therefore, the educator will use a more practical approach of teaching that will ensure the patient gets knowledge on how to adopt a new lifestyle.

Creating a Relationship with the Learners

The nurse educator should establish a good relationship with Crystal and Mackenzie to be able to understand their current situation such as dietary characteristics and activities to be able to tailor a patient education framework that meets the individual needs of Crystal and her diabetic daughter. The education program should be able to address the specific needs such as observational learning programs and instructions on lifestyle change to ensure that the family adopts a diabetic friendly routine and dietary lifestyle (Dewald, 2012). Adult patients or parents of diabetic children prefer self-mastery and self-directedness. The nurse educator should create learning materials for such parents to improve their skills through experiences

Building Supportive Social Networks

The nurse educator should be able to build a network of juvenile diabetic patients to ensure that the families can be able to share best practices and behaviors that can improve the patient health and wellbeing. Diabetes management is a lifelong and continuous process that require comprehensive support networks from local nurse practitioners and diabetic patients which can help the young mother to learn the necessary coping strategies for her daughter to be able to lead a good life (Gardner, 2014). Supportive networks are in agreement with the social learning theory which posits that people can learn from observing those around them.

Conclusion

Unique learning environments require unique approaches to teaching to ensure positive learning outcomes. Diabetes management education is essential in the management of diabetes and ensures that those diagnosed with the problem can lead a good life and avoid healthcare complications caused by diabetes. In a situation where the learning environment encompasses two or more learners with differences in age and socioeconomic factors, the educator should plan well to eradicate possible conflicts that would hinder diabetes management education procedures. In this case, the Crystal is an adult and Mackenzie belonged to the different age groups. The social learning theory is the best education theory because of its observational approach. Creating support groups and social networks can significantly help diabetes patients to identify best practices that assist in the management of juvenile diabetes.

References

Curran, M. K. (2014). Examination of the teaching styles of nursing professional development specialists, part I: Best practices in adult learning theory, curriculum development, and knowledge transfer. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 45(5), 233-240.

Decelle, G., & Sherrod, D. (2011). A Call to Address Learner Diversity in Health Professions Education. Journal of Best Practices in Health Professions Diversity: Education, Research & Policy, 4(1).

Dewald, R. J. (2012). Teaching strategies that promote a culturally sensitive nursing education. Nursing education perspectives, 33(6), 410-412.

Gardner, S. S. (2014). From learning to teach to teaching effectiveness: Nurse Educators describe their experiences - Nursing Education Perspectives, 35(2), 106-111.