1.1 Introduction

Think of a time you interacted in the health care system and reflect on teaching you observed:

• What did you observe when teaching was provided?
• Were there handouts, videos, or computers provided to assist with learning?
• How did the client respond to the teaching?
• Did you observe some strengths of the client’s learning during the teaching session?
• Did you observe some barriers to learning during the teaching session?

Nurses recognize that health care continues to evolve with increasingly complex information for clients and their family members to navigate. As the population continues to live longer, there is an increased emphasis on health promotion and wellness, earlier discharge from the hospital, and more responsibility on the individual to be active participants in their own care.

Standards for learner assessment and health teaching are also established by The Joint Commission (TJC), a federal agency that sets standards for health care agencies with a focus on “client safety and quality improvement.”^[1] The Joint Commission requires that all hospitalized clients’ learning preferences are assessed and health teaching is provided to enhance self-management of disease processes.

Teaching is the process of implementing a variety of methods with the intention of producing learning. Learning is the acquisition of new knowledge, attitudes, or skills. In nursing the teaching/learning process is closely linked with health promotion and the nursing process.

Understanding the processes of teaching and learning is integral to the role of the nurse. This chapter will focus on current standards and theories for providing learner assessment, health teaching, and health promotion in the role of a nurse.