Nurses' perceptions of their health educator role.
A questionnaire was designed to describe and understand the role of the registered nurse in patient teaching as perceived by nurses. The questionnaire was distributed to 1355 nurses working in an acute care tertiary teaching hospital. The data indicated most nurses expressed strong agreement with the majority of items relating to their skill and educational preparation to teach patients. Selected questions relating to the nurse's role as a patient educator showed nurses viewed their patient education role as satisfying and expected by their patients. Needs relating to their patient education role included: additional time to teach patients, more educational materials, peer feedback regarding teaching effectiveness, and sufficient medical information. Additionally, the majority of nurses perceived that patients did not have sufficient knowledge to care for themselves after leaving the hospital and that too much information about their condition was withheld from them. Summary scales showed significant differences in area of work and position with the nurse's perception of the health educator role.
Barrett
C
C
Doyle
M
M
Driscoll
S
S
Flaherty
K
K
Dombrowski
M
M
D002983:Clinical Competence; D006801:Humans; D007587:Job Description; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology* / Q000592:standards; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D012649:Self Concept