Nutrition education: taking it one step at a time

Although it is important for most patients with diabetes to gain a broad background in nutrition information and exchange principles, for many these will be long-range goals. Don't be in such a hurry to teach so much that you lose the patient's interest and end up confusing the patient with too much knowledge and information. Keep the principles of adult learning in mind as you set your goals for initial, intermediate, and advanced learning objectives for each patient. And, finally, consider evaluating the DNIS as a useful addition to your patient education resources for initial level teaching tools.