As health care costs continue to rise, nurse educators must make students aware of prices of items patients and families need for their care. This teaching activity is designed to help students develop an awareness of costs for commonly recommended items families might have in their homes or need for their prepartum and postpartum care. One of the outcomes of our maternity nursing and community course is that students will participate in prevention strategies for families with attention to effectiveness, efficiency, cost, and equity. To meet this outcome, the student is given a list of commonly used items that health care providers expect families to purchase, for example, a bottle of Tylenol, a case of formula, and a package of diapers (see Table, Supplemental Digital Content 1, http://links.lww.com/NE/A273). Each student takes this list to a preassigned pharmacy and writes down the cost of each item. Students then meet and compare costs for each item on a white board. For example, each student will have the price for prenatal vitamins with 40 [mu]g of folic acid; students then discuss and compare the prices at various pharmacies in the area. Students are often surprised at the range of costs for similar items, and they discuss why costs may vary from different retailers. Occasionally, students will provide information about coupons or specials they discover during this activity. After documenting costs, students can give this detailed list to various clinical sites so that nurses can share it with their patients. This activity helps students to fully appreciate the cost constraints of health care dollars and how these costs influence families and their decisions in spending health care dollars.
Submitted by: Meg Moorman PhD, RN, WHNP-BC, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Community Health Systems, Indiana University School of Nursing, Indianapolis ([email protected]).
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