21-16
USING RECORD SHEETS AND TEACHING AIDS TO HELP
STUDENTS UNDERSTAND SPECIFIC TREATMENTS
One day. health workers
in Ajoya, Mexico received
a PATIENT REPORT about a
very sick man in a village 19
kilometers away. The man had
not urinated for a day and a half,
and was in great pain.
First the health workers
discussed what were the most
likely causes of the man’s
problem, and what complications
there might be. Then they
packed a medical kit and one of
them rode up to the village with
the sick man’s brother, who had
brought the report.
With appropriate treatment and
advice, the man’s condition soon
improved.
During the next training
course, the health workers
decided to use that same
PATIENT REPORT as the basis
for a class on urinary problems.
One person pretended to be the
sick man, while someone else led
the students in figuring out the
cause of the problem and how to treat it.
Students were shown the original PATIENT REPORT. Then they were asked to
look in their books and try to answer the following questions:
• What are the possible causes of the man’s problem?
• Does the report contain enough information
to show which cause is most likely?
• What should you look for and ask in order
to find out which cause is most likely?
• Is it a serious problem?
• What would you recommend to help the
man urinate?
• What about the fever? Is it a sign of infection?
• Is the man taking a safe medicine?
• What other treatments or medicines would be helpful?
• What would you have done if you had gone to the village to treat him?