Protonix: Building a Teaching Plan, Essay Example

In this two-page paper I will briefly outline a way to create a basic plan for instructing patients, their supporting family members, nurses, home-assistance personnel, and medical students about the proper administration and use of the drug Pantoprazole, widely marketed under the name Protonix and a variety of other brands. Neither a finished plan nor this paper replaces a physician’s, pharmacist’s, or other healthcare professional’s instructions.

Protonix is prescribed for the treatment of a range of long-term stomach problems rooted in the presence of excess stomach acid. Gastroesophageal reflux disease, itself known by its acronym GERD and traditionally called heartburn, is a representative condition physicians will prescribe Protonix for (“Pantoprazole,” 2012). Known as a proton pump inhibitor, Protonix decreases the stomach’s production of digestive acid, allowing a diminution of symptoms.   By far the best way to format this plan would be as a PowerPoint Presentation (PPP). Then it could either be emailed, shared online, or printed, thus allowing far greater access to it. Start first with the four principal ways this drug may be administered. The first two are as a pill and as a granular supplement to applesauce or apple juice. These are simple and no special techniques or training are required. A simple statement and/or illustration for each will suffice. The next two methods are via a feeding tube, or dedicated intravenous line/Y-site. These do require special training. Even relatives of the patient should be prepared to learn the basics of them. Remember, however, that it is not the purpose of your plan to provide professional training in the use of medical equipment. This is for familiarization only (Boeschen).

A good PPP will include illustrations, and many of the most important topics will have illustrations available on the Web. If your plan will not be officially published or used to generate revenue, feel free to use whatever you find. Organize the list of symptoms not by alphabetical order, but rather by the kind of illustrations you use to accompany the range of different symptoms. In other words, you can use the same illustration for more than one symptom if those symptoms share some common manifestation, such as chest pain.

Target symptoms should each be allotted one slide. They can be easily found by Googling WebMD Understanding Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) – Symptoms. However, note that it is well known that episodes of acid reflux are frequently mistaken for heart attacks. Therefore include those major coronary symptoms as well with the same illustrations, but with the important warning that these overlap with GERD. One good way to present that duality would be to present them on a one-for-one comparison basis. Start your research in this area by Googling acid reflux vs. heart attack symptoms.

Protonix is known to have powerful and complex interactions with other drugs and allergies. Therefore it is vital that your readers know to learn all of the drugs the patient or prospective patient is currently taking or will be taking, and all of the patient’s known drug allergies. A brief summation of potential interactions — one per slide — can begin with a Google search for Protonix and drug interactions. The more lengthy list of specific side-effects will probably comprise the largest part of your presentation. A good place to begin your research can be found by Googling the search term WebMD Protonix.

One of the challenges to a presentation like this lies in making it interesting enough to its readers, who will presumably not be paid to read it. A PPP can be made comparatively enjoyable by putting it in a quiz format instead of a straightforward instructional presentation. There can also be different versions for different sets of patients. Children, for example, have their own set of symptoms, as can be found by Googling About.com, Gastroesophageal Reflux in Children.

Assembling your PPP will entail a good deal of work and creativity. It must instruct but must also create an interest in the subject as well. Only then will readers learn from it.

References

Boeschen, C. (n.d.). Medical malpractice: When can patients sue a hospital for negligence?  Retrieved from http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/medical-malpractice-patients-sue-hospital-negligence-30189.html

Pantoprazole. (2012, June 15). Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000177/