Patients are often under a great deal of stress. The stress of a new diagnosis, worsening symptoms, and even the hospitalization may make them less attentive to instruction. The nurse must triage the patient's ability to comprehend novel and challenging directions, and factor in any other compounding variables such as cultural differences, pain, medications, and others. Optimal outcomes are achieved when the patient is compliant with treatment and understands what they need to do to be successful. Do your best to explain effective teaching methods here, like teaching through direct instruction or incremental lessons with return demonstrations, utilizing multi-sensory instruction, by providing verbal, written, and physical instructions when applicable.
