A Patient Teaching Plan for Diabetes Mellitus Scenario

Complete the Patient Teaching Plan: Diabetes Mellitus Scenario:
Ms. Smith is an elderly woman who lives alone and has been newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Her fasting blood glucose levels were consistently between 180 and 250 when tested at the clinic, and her HbA1c was 7.9. This new diagnosis was overwhelming to her. She was fearful that she could not remember all the material she needed to learn about diet, administering insulin, and testing her blood-glucose level. The nurse in the clinic scheduled her teaching appointments and began the process of patient education. After the third session, Ms. Smith said she understood how to use the glucometer and felt competent with the blood-glucose monitoring technique.
The next day she tested her blood-glucose level at home and at 108, it was significantly lower than the results she had recorded when at the clinic. She called her clinical nurse, who in turn reported the low results to the physician, who decreased her dose of insulin. Ms. Smith was later admitted to the ER for symptoms of hyperglycemia. Apparently when reviewing information with her nurse, Ms. Smith realized she had forgotten to wipe off the first drop of blood from her finger. She had used a blood sample that was diluted making her blood glucose level abnormally low. She also admitted that because her glucose reading was low she thought it would be “okay” if she spooned “about a tablespoon” of brown sugar on each half of her morning grapefruit. She had an additional bowlful of granola because “whole grains are good for you,” and she poured chocolate flavored soymilk over the granola “because it has fewer calories than milk.”
Create a teaching plan for Ms. Smith by answering these questions:
• Identify the subjective data you have gathered from the scenario.
• Identify the objective data you have gathered from the scenario.
• Identify two learning objectives (“At the conclusion of this teaching session, the patient will….”).
• Describe two barriers to learning that you anticipate and how you plan to overcome them.
• Describe your plan to teach Ms. Smith how to test her blood-glucose level (Include number of sessions, length of sessions, time of day, location).
• Based on what you know about Ms. Smith, describe two areas to focus on as you individualize her teaching plan.
• Describe the teaching method you intend to use and the resources you will need.
• How will you evaluate the success of your teaching?