Continuing education on teaching skills for health professionals. Evaluation of training the trainers

Effective Patient Teaching (EPT), a health professions continuing education course, improves educators' teaching skills when presented by its developers. This study aimed to determine whether others could teach EPT with similar effectiveness. Four nurse managers who provide staff training and supervision for multiple hospital diabetes care units presented EPT to health care professionals at seven such sites; another seven served as controls. The evaluation included observations of trainers conducting EPT programs in the field, teaching skills ratings of health professionals in both groups, and knowledge test administered to patients. Six months after training, teaching skills scores of health professional EPT participants were better (p < .05) than controls. The EPT program improves participants' teaching skills and maintains these effects in field settings, when presented by faculty not involved in its development.