A diversified patient education program for transplant recipients.

Abstract

Patients who receive a solid organ transplant not only have many learning needs, but also lifestyle changes related to the transplant. Previous experiences with health care, beliefs about health, language and reading skills, cultural influences, education preparation, and disabilities are a few of the factors that influence how each patient learns posttransplantation, and adjusts to a new lifestyle. Staff nurses on our transplant unit have taken these factors into consideration when developing various concrete teaching tools that include a book, medication card, color-coded medication guide, audiocassette, computer printouts, and clinical pathways. Because each patient comes with a unique story, approaches for patient learning are individualized by the nursing staff. The use of the tools, combined with an individualized and nonjudgmental approach, has created a caring environment for patient learning.