Bill Valenzuela This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. Nurseweek/Healthweek|Healing words : Working through literacy barriers

   www.nurseweek.com/features/98- - [Cached]

   Published on: 10/29/1998   Last Visited: 5/13/2001

   In the farming town of San Joaquin , where 41 percent of adults have low-level literacy skills , Bill Valenzuela , RN , faces this obstacle. But he is optimistic nurses can overcome it. There is always a way to communicate with someone who is illiterate , said Valenzuela , clinical coordinator for Valley Health Team Inc.'s San Joaquin Health Center and Kerman Health Center.
   
   Valenzuela marks sample syringes with tape to show diabetic patients who can't read numbers how much insulin to use. He draws simple sketches of the heart and its chambers to educate heart patients. He color-codes time charts to show patients when they should take their medication and takes advantage of ready-made diagrams when possible.
   
   Pinpointing the problem
   
   When it comes to assessing illiteracy , Valenzuela doesn't mince words. He routinely asks patients about their education level. In the admission process we explain that some questions may be personal , but the more we know about you , the better we can take care of you , he said. It doesn't bother people to tell us about their education. We do this on a one-to-one basis , so it's confidential and patients are not afraid..
   
   The straightforward approach , however , may not always work. Patients can sometimes skirt outright requests for education information.