Myocardial infarction patients (MI, or heart attack) are vulnerable patients that require special care. The purpose of this study was to develop a teaching guide to be used by nursing staff with MI patients in the hospital setting, and to investigate the impact of this Individualized Patient Teaching Guide (IPTG). This research met its specific purposes through a three phase structure: development of the teaching guide, implementation, and assessment of participant impact. In phase one, development of the teaching guide, two focus groups were conducted: one with previous MI patients and the other with nursing staff. The IPTG was developed using topics identified as important by these two groups. Twenty patients participated in the implementation phase. The intention was for these patients to have patient teaching guided by the options they chose on their IPTGs. Seventy per cent of the patients provided feedback concerning the impact of the guide. All of these patients (n=14) indicated that Risk Factors was very important or important for them to learn about while in the hospital, and 13 of them received instruction on Risk Factors from health care practitioners. Psychological concerns was the topic most neglected: only one of the patients that had identified this as important received instruction on this topic. While the majority of patients (n=10) indicated that the IPTG provided them with an opportunity to identify their learning needs, only four of the patients surveyed felt that their learning needs were completely met in the hospital setting. The other six patients indicated that the information provided to them was insufficient. It seems that some of the topics identified as important were addressed in the clinical setting. Furthermore, the tool did allow patients an opportunity to identify learning needs. However, given that the majority of patients indicated dissatisfaction with the amount of education they received in the hospital setting, it may be concluded that the IPTG did not accomplish the goal of improving the in-patient learning experience. Reasons for this are discussed. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2008-07-25 11:33:49.114