Effective ergonomic teaching for positive client outcomes

Teaching and intervention are integral aspects of nursing professional practice. Theorizing and conjecture exist regarding effective methods of teaching and intervention that may support compliance and positive outcomes in the way of improved client health. Numerous publications encourage the use of specific teaching-intervention techniques, but few are validated by studies done to assess actual teaching behaviors of nurses who administer successful teaching-intervention programs. This thesis is a case study of one occupational health nurse who administers a highly effective ergonomic program for the employees in a large urban hospital. Themes identified during observation of nurse and client interactions include mindfulness on the part of the nurse, respect for client autonomy, nurse effort, nurse accessibility and professional distance. A consistent teaching process identified during observation consists of six steps: inquiry, invitation, assessment, synthesis, validation and progression. This six-step process is embedded within identified themes. Teaching and intervention methods identified in the study are a synthesis of wholistic "caring" behaviors described by Jean Watson and Rhea Sanford, and Ida Jean Orlando's "Nursing Process Theory". This integrated method, "Effective Teaching Through Unified Process and Caring Interpersonal Behavior", may represent a middle path that supports blending components of both empirical and wholistic "care" approaches for teaching and intervention in nursing.