Realistically meeting the educational needs of hospitalized acute and short-stay patients.

Patient teaching in acute care hospital settings isn't much different from teaching in other settings. The main differences have to do with the amount of time available and the condition of the patients. Using good assessment practices, sticking to "need to know" survival content, simplifying instructions, streamlining programs, providing for practice, providing reference and resource materials, and referring patients for further education are the ingredients that will help get the job done efficiently and effectively.

Multimethod teaching modules.

The information in this article is for a wide variety of nurses who find themselves in a teaching role: the critical care nurse orienting another nurse (experienced or new graduate); the critical care manager who needs to present an inservice program; and the educator or clinical specialist looking for a new way to present the same information. The author describes how self-paced modules for inservice education offer variety to learners since learners choose the teaching strategy that best suits their learning styles.

Telecourses for nursing staff development.

Instructional television is a viable option for meeting staff development needs in health care agencies. Telecourses produced by the Intercollegiate Center for Nursing Education provide staff development educators with an efficient and effective alternative for meeting selected educational needs of staff within health care institutions, as well as interested nurses throughout the community. Use of this instructional methodology is described.

Developing self-learning packages.

In the current health care economy, staff development educators are searching for viable, cost-effective methods of delivering instruction. Self-learning packages are one such method. A step-by-step method for developing self-learning packages is presented along with a comparative analysis of costs with the use of self-learning packages versus a traditional classroom program.

Development of a new self-help guide--Freedom From Smoking for you and your family.

This article describes the development of a new smoking cessation and maintenance guide aimed at a broad spectrum of cigarette smokers. To accomplish this task the authors reviewed the research literature and conducted a series of iterative pretests with representatives of the target populations using qualitative and quantitative methods. A process is described for developing health education materials which includes the selection of the target audience, organization and presentation of content, and pretesting of the material. The utility of this user-oriented strategy and step-by-step pretesting is discussed.

Smoking cessation by mail: a comparison of standard and personalized correspondence course formats.

Self-Instructional behavior-change programs for reducing risks to health are potentially widely available, acceptable and cost-effective. This paper reports outcomes of a smoking cessation program administered by mail. Two hundred and eight smokers were allocated systematically to a quit kit control condition (n = 40), to a standard correspondence course (n = 86) and to a personalized correspondence course prepared with the aid of a microcomputer (n = 82). There were significantly higher rates of abstinence after the course for correspondence course participants compared to controls, but these differences did not persist at three-month and nine-month follow-ups. There were no differences between the personalized and standard courses on abstinence rates, number of cigarettes smoked per day, or return of feedback forms on each lesson. There were associations between self-efficacy strength and reduced rates of smoking, and active participation in the course was associated with lower smoking rates.

A computer-aided programme for promoting unsupervized activities for multihandicapped adolescents.

The present study was aimed at developing a computer-aided programme for promoting performance of unsupervized activities with two multihandicapped adolescents. Simple household and occupational tasks already familiar to the subjects were selected as activities. Both subjects discriminated the pictorial representations of those activities. In order to control for the effects of the computer-aided programme, the subjects were also exposed to a card programme. Data indicate that the computer-aided programme was successful with both subjects. Advantages and limitations of this programme are discussed.

A method of self-directed learning in continuing medical education with implications for recertification.

A method of self-directed learning for physicians that can be used to satisfy a portion of specialty board recertification requirements integrates contract learning (self-formulated learning plans), information brokering (linking physicians with consultants and community resources), and collegial networking (discussion groups). The method encourages physicians to focus on educational objectives, supplies learning resources, and promotes interactions with colleagues in study groups. Fifty-nine (53%) of the 102 learning goals update physicians' knowledge. Print sources and discussions with experts were the commonest resources used. Forty-five (49%) of 91 participants completed their learning plans. Forty-nine (74%) completed projects were judged successful in achieving their goals. Twenty-five (45%) of 56 physicians responding to a questionnaire stated that the method was superior to traditional continuing medical education. Fifty-two percent of the participants found the method as effective as traditional continuing medical education. Proof of accomplishment allows the method to be used as part of a specialty board recertification process.

Teaching dental materials using the personalized system of instruction.

Tailoring instruction to the individual needs of students is one approach to ensuring that students with lower scholastic aptitudes obtain the skills and knowledge necessary to function successfully as professionals. This study determined the effects of the personalized system of instruction (PSI) on end-of-course achievement, aptitude-achievement relationships, long-term retention, and course attitudes. The PSI method of instruction was compared to a conventional lecture/laboratory approach for teaching a dental materials course to dental hygiene students. Although there was no significant difference between conventionally taught and PSI students on the end-of-term final examination, lower aptitude students in the PSI class scored significantly higher on the final examination than lower aptitude students in the conventional class. Of students completing a one-year retention examination, those in the PSI class scored significantly higher than students in the conventionally taught class. Student course ratings favored PSI instruction both at the end of the course and at the one-year follow-up interval.

Implementing contract learning in a senior nursing practicum.

The use of learning contracts with undergraduates and graduate nursing students, as well as in staff inservice and continuing nursing education, has been promoted in North America as a teaching/learning strategy to individualize learning, promote independence, promote habits of lifelong learning and teach nurses how to cope with change. The purpose of this article is to describe the implementation of contract learning in a required clinical nursing course at the undergraduate level in a Canadian university and to describe retrospectively perceived benefits and difficulties. The process of peer consultation and student evaluation used in modifying contract learning is described. Recommendations for nurse educators considering implementing contract learning are presented.

Memory-skills training, memory complaints, and depression in older adults.

This study examined the effectiveness of a self-taught program of memory-skills training for older adults complaining of memory difficulties in an immediate-treatment/waiting-list design. Analyses of covariance of measures of memory performance, memory evaluation (complaints), and a self-rating depression scale revealed a significant impact of training on memory performance but not on memory complaints or symptoms of depression. Subsequent evaluation of the waiting-list group, which was provided training after participation in the initial portion of the study, provided a partial replication of the design. The pattern of results was remarkably consistent with that obtained in the controlled evaluation of the training program. Finally, those complaining of memory problems were compared with a group of noncomplaining older adults. The two groups were comparable in memory performance and depression scores. Thus, memory complaints do not appear to reflect, systematically, memory problems or depression.