Patient education is one of the most important roles and responsibilities of the Peritoneal Dialysis Nurse. Education involves being able to communicate with the learner and providing information that meets the cognitive, cultural and social needs of the patient and their families. Ultimately, the goal of the Peritoneal Dialysis nurse is to provide the patient with sufficient knowledge and tools for them to manage the ongoing care of their dialysis treatment, independently and safely, in their own home.

In 2007, an elderly non-English speaking woman presented to St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne requiring urgent treatment for her end stage renal impairment. Peritoneal dialysis access was established and dialysis was commenced immediately.

Consequently, due to the inability to plan, the challenges that the Peritoneal Dialysis nurses faced included; accessing medical interpreter services, obtaining appropriate training materials and implementing “unconventional” teaching techniques to meet this patient’s unique learning needs.

This poster will also look at how we were able to measure the success of our education and explore future training options to ensure the equity in treatment and care of non-English speaking Peritoneal Dialysis patients.