Educational coordinator--staff development--what is their impact on patient education?

The increasing complexities in the health care system have produced a need for well-planned patient education. Integral to the development of these programs is: the assessment of patient populations' educational needs; the design of a program to meet these defined needs; the implementation of this pre-designed program; and, the evaluation of that total learning experience. The literature suggests that a patient education coordinator facilitates this program planning process. It is also suggested that in agencies where a coordinator position is non-existent, that staff development related to patient education can enhance programming efforts. This investigation examined the impact of staff development and the coordinator on the program-planning process. It researched the effect of these factors singularly and collectively. The results suggest that individually and in tandem both factors have a positive impact on patient education. Best results were observed in institutions having a coordinator and a staff development program.