When teaching patients, one must build on the foundation of clear and measurable objectives.

When teaching patients, one must build on the foundation of clear and measurable objectives. The wording is important, ask yourself if there is a way to quantify the goal. Be specific, you may understand it but the teaching may need to be on the level of a 4-6th grader in some cases. Low literacy has been strongly correlated to poorer health outcomes. They have poorer resources and gaps in self-management of health conditions (Easton, Entwhistle, & Williams, 2013, p. 2). Be realistic, know the patient’s demographics, roadblocks, any factor that would interfere with a successful outcome. In a study by Bryant, she points out how frequent illiteracy affects individuals, more than half in their study, it is very rarely documented in the nurse’s assessment and plan of care for this patient in the chart. This must strongly be a consideration in teaching due to the many ways this negatively affects the patient and health outcomes (Bryant, 2011, p. 10).