Goal 1:

Learn more about disease prevention/progression and management to better educate and guide patients toward healthier lifestyles. 

I plan to do this by researching the specific eye pathologies treated at my practice to narrow the disease prevention and management I need to cover. After doing this, overlap in methods is expected to occur due to the occurrence in the eyes. This will allow me to focus on at least 3 major lifestyle changes that this population can adopt. The majority of our patient load is over the age of 60 which can limit the attainability of certain management/prevention measures. However, I also plan to provide inclusive materials for the small portion of our young patient population to help prevent progression or comorbid conditions. 

Goal 2: 

Learn how to create clear and helpful patient education materials to encourage healthy lifestyle choices.

I will create clear and helpful patient education by utilizing online textbooks and resources along with pre-existing patient education at the practice. This will ensure that I am delivering information in a way that is appealing and easy to understand by patients of all ages. One handout I have already been able to establish a need for is a diet consisting of leafy greens. This is a note made by providers to patients on a regular basis and is included in their visit notes each time. As I progress in my internship I will be completing these on days when I am not in clinic which will allow time for my preceptor to review each handout before I move on to the next. 

Goal 3:

Learn how to use electronic health records and health informatics tools to improve patient education delivery. 

Part of the research I plan to do to determine what information the doctors will deem useful in the clinic will consist of my reviewing patient data. The practice’s EHR will give me insight into other lifestyle changes the doctors have spoken to patients about in addition to diet changes as previously discussed. Utilization of the EHR will also help me identify the most common age groups in which certain habits need to be addressed. This will positively impact the delivery and methods included in education. I am at an advantage of understanding the practice’s EHR for this project as I use it in a clinical aspect frequently.