title: Partnership in education: an example of client and educator collaboration.
abstract: This article describes one education strategy designed to assist nursing staff in the process of "learning to surrender" the service providers' need to direct client decision-making. Using the health promotion principle of "client as expert," a nurse educator and a client with advanced multiple sclerosis co-present an inservice class about the importance of personal empowerment and environmental mastery for maintaining physical and psychological well-being in the face of a chronic disorder. This collaborative strategy provided the client a forum from which to share his personal experience and professional knowledge to influence attitudes and provide valuable information to nursing staff in a long-term care facility. Collaborating with the client to bring information to nursing staff is one means to foster a climate of client empowerment, influence staff perceptions and communicate the unique experiences of the client.
authors.affiliation: Continuing Care Department, Capital Health Region, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hutchings
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000451:nursing*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017145:Models, Educational; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*