The patient with congestive heart failure. Teaching implications

If a decrease in hospital readmissions and a reduction in the length of hospital stays as well as an improvement in the general health and quality of life in patients with congestive heart failure can occur with an educational process, then efforts in this direction should continue and be constantly improved. There is no magic formula in helping patients learn. The success of the teaching will depend on the individual patient's ability, willingness, and understanding, but it also depends on the ability, knowledge, imagination, and effort put forth on the part of the nurse teacher. Organizing group classes and employing pre-printed instructions and information, instead of on-the-spot written instructions by each individual teacher, are ways to enhance the success of the teaching as well as increasing interest on the part of the patients. Although these methods were not discussed by this author here, their use needs to be explored.