Educate Your Patients: Kidney Disease Education Lesson Builder

This section helps educators create and implement lesson plans for counseling patients with CKD about managing their disease and preparing for renal replacement therapy (RRT). It also helps health professionals find patient education content and resources based on CKD topic.

This resource is divided into six lessons that can be carried out one-on-one or in group settings. For each lesson, we have included learning objectives, sample session starters, recommended session content, information for learners that can be printed and ordered, clinical information for educators, sample outcome assessment questions, and visual teaching aids that can be used during the lessons. This resource also provides links to relevant educational videos that model ways educators can answer common patient questions.

The content of these six lesson plans meets the needs of qualified providers seeking to deliver the Kidney Disease Education (KDE) Services benefit, as defined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (beneficiaries must have an eGFR of 29 or lower). CMS requires outcome assessments of patient knowledge for each session. Sample assessment questions are provided. You are encouraged, however, to develop your own overall outcome indicators and program assessments.

Tips for educators:

• When possible, include family members and loved ones in learning sessions.
• Consider how cultural considerations may impact your lesson content for certain populations.
• As always, be sensitive to the needs of your patients. Kidney disease and kidney failure can cause fear within patients.
• Consider including an actual patient as a guest speaker to share experiences for group session.

A sample pack of the patient education materials recommended for all six lesson plans is available to order for free. To order a free KDE Lesson Builder: Patient Material Sample Pack or individual NKDEP materials, please visit NKDEP's Resource Center.