Transplant 101: Operationalizing Post-Transplant Patient Education

There are several obstacles to achieving effective post-transplant education for kidney transplant recipients. Identifying those obstacles and making an effective plan to circumvent them are the first steps in the education process. Since the post-transplant length of stay is often short, it is advisable that each program has an educational care map describing when and how to deliver post-transplant teaching. It is essential to provide the patient with written information, as well as worksheets for recording self-monitoring and medication schedules. Equally important to the patient education process is the nurse's establishment of a trusting relationship with the patient to assess readiness to learn, as well in defining goals and objectives, which should be mutually set. A variety of engaging teaching and learning strategies optimizes post-transplant patient education.