Nurses are told to teach, but not taught how to teach. Without intensive (or sometimes any) instructional training, nephrology nurses are expected to teach complex medical self-management strategies to terrified, overwhelmed, uremic people at all intellectual levels.  This is a common point of frustration because it often feels like patients aren’t listening, don’t care, and that our efforts are in vain.  Adult learning does not happen accidentally.  It happens only with motivation—and motivation is emotional, not clinical.
Objectives
- Outline the challenges of teaching adult learners who have chronic kidney disease.
- State the importance of explaining the rationale for teaching a given subject.
- Describe strategies to support adult learning for people with kidney disease.
- Define dual code theory and explain how it impacts adult learning.
Accreditation for this course expires October 31, 2026.
Learners must complete the entire activity, receive a score of at least 80% on the post-test, and complete the course evaluation to be awarded contact hours. Learners can print or save their completion certificates and should keep them for a minimimum of 4 years. It is the responsibility of the learner to determine if these CE contact hours will be accepted by a particular licensing organization.
- Nurse Planner – Steffanie Gissal, BSN, RN
- Authors – Jennifer Ravert, RN and Dori Schatell, MS
This class is part of our Self-guided Program to Advance Renal Knowledge (SPARK) series of online CE learning + professional mentoring education classes for nurses and dialysis technicians. Our goals are to help dialysis nurses and technicians stay up-to-date with their training and certifications—and to attract new interest in nephrology as a career. This activity was funded, in part, by an unrestricted educational grant from Fresenius Medical Care.
