ABSTRACT
Patient education is exciting and creative but has yet to reach its full potential as an integrated part of nursing practice. For many reasons it is vital that nurses develop this aspect of their work to make it a unique and identifiable part of nursing. In spite of the need to exploit the potential of patient education it is an activity which can often be overshadowed by other items on nursing’s busy agenda. There are so many demands on nurses’ time that, even with the best will in the world, patient education may not receive the careful attention which it deserves.
