NU142 Unit 7 Patient Education Handout Example

Course	NU142 Medical-Surgical Nursing I
Unit	Unit 7
Paper type	Patient education handout
Length	About 560 words, 5 pages double-spaced
Format	APA 7 student paper
School	Purdue University Global
Program	BSN (prelicensure)
Updated	October 2026

Free sample paper for NU142 Unit 7

A Stone Still on Its Way: A Patient Education Handout for a Composite 41-Year-Old Man Going Home After an Overnight Stay for a Kidney Stone, Covering Straining, Pain Control, Warning Signs and the Fluids That Prevent the Next One

[Student Name]

Purdue University Global

NU142: Medical-Surgical Nursing I

Unit 7 Patient Education Handout

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

The patient is composite; the handout is general education, and the urologist's instructions govern.

What this part is doingThe handout separates passing this stone from preventing the next one, because each needs different actions.

Going Home With a Kidney Stone

You have a small kidney stone, about the size of a grain of rice. Most stones this size pass on their own in a few days to a few weeks. This sheet tells you what to do while it passes and how to lower the chance of another one.

While the Stone Passes

Drink enough fluid to make your urine pale yellow, about [2.5] to [3] liters a day unless your doctor says otherwise.

Urinate through the strainer every time, at home and at work. Keep any stone you catch in the small container and bring it to your follow-up visit. Testing the stone tells us how to prevent the next one.

Take your medicine to help the stone pass, [tamsulosin 0.4 mg], once a day as prescribed. It can make you dizzy when you stand up, so stand slowly.

For pain, take [ibuprofen 600 mg] every [6] to [8] hours with food. Use the stronger pain pill only if this is not enough. Stop the stronger pill as soon as you can.

Walk and stay active. You can go back to work when the pain is controlled.

Come Back to the Emergency Department or Call Right Away If

Your temperature reaches [38] C, which is [100.4] F, or you have shaking chills. A stone with an infection is an emergency.

Your pain is not controlled by your medicine.

You cannot keep fluids down because of vomiting.

You cannot urinate, or you pass very little urine.

Preventing the Next Stone

Keep drinking enough to make about [2.5] liters of urine a day, every day, not just now. This is the most important step.

Cut back on salt and processed foods; salt raises the calcium in your urine.

Do not cut out calcium-rich foods like milk and yogurt unless told to. Normal calcium in food actually helps prevent the most common stones.

Limit sugary soda and large amounts of meat.

Your follow-up visit with the urology clinic is on [date]. Bring your stone.

The fever line comes first in the warning list, because a blocked kidney with an infection can become life-threatening within hours.

What this part is doingPrevention advice keeps calcium in the diet, correcting a common belief that would raise his risk.

Note to the Instructor

The handout was taught to Patient U, a composite 41-year-old, before discharge. It is written in short bullets with each instruction stated as an action, since short action statements are easier for any reader to follow at home (Weiss, 2007). Prevention advice emphasizes fluid intake, which reviews of recurrent stone prevention support as the central measure, and keeps dietary calcium rather than restricting it, since restricting calcium can increase oxalate absorption (Fink et al., 2013). The fever warning is placed first because an obstructing stone with infection needs urgent drainage (Harding et al., 2023). In teach-back he named fever as the most urgent reason to return and showed how he would use the strainer; he had planned to stop drinking milk, and we reviewed why not.

What this part is doingThe teach-back caught a mistaken plan to cut out milk, which was corrected before he left.

References

Fink, H. A., Wilt, T. J., Eidman, K. E., Garimella, P. S., MacDonald, R., Rutks, I. R., Brasure, M., Kane, R. L., Ouellette, J., & Monga, M. (2013). Medical management to prevent recurrent nephrolithiasis in adults: A systematic review for an American College of Physicians clinical guideline. Annals of Internal Medicine, 158(7), 535-543. https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-158-7-201304020-00005

Harding, M. M., Kwong, J., Hagler, D., & Reinisch, C. (2023). Lewis's medical-surgical nursing: Assessment and management of clinical problems (12th ed.). Elsevier.

Weiss, B. D. (2007). Health literacy and patient safety: Help patients understand (2nd ed.). American Medical Association Foundation.

Reading the NU 142 Unit 7 instructions

Unit 7 usually brings kidney and bladder problems into patient teaching, with a handout the patient will use at home. Prompts commonly want plain-language instructions for the current problem, warning signs that require urgent care, measures to prevent recurrence and a brief rationale for the instructor. Instructors look for accurate, specific instructions, warning signs ordered by danger and prevention advice grounded in evidence rather than common myths. For kidney stones, a frequent myth is cutting out dietary calcium, which can backfire. The instructor note should explain format and content choices with sources and report what teach-back showed, including any misunderstanding corrected before discharge. Patients should be able to follow it alone.

How this NU142 Unit 7 example is built

The handout opens with a plain description of the stone and its expected course. The section on passing the stone covers fluid targets, straining and saving the stone for testing, tamsulosin with a dizziness warning, a stepwise pain plan and staying active. A warning list follows, led by fever because infection with a blocked kidney is an emergency, with the highlighted line explaining that placement. The prevention section covers daily fluid, salt, keeping dietary calcium and limiting soda and meat. The instructor note explains the bullet format, cites a systematic review on recurrence prevention, explains the fever placement and reports a teach-back in which a plan to stop drinking milk was corrected.

Where the points sit in the NU142 Unit 7 rubric

Patient handouts in NU 142 earn their marks through accuracy, readability, ordering of warnings, evidence-based prevention and teach-back. Accuracy covers medicines, fluid targets and straining instructions. Readability rewards short action statements in everyday words. Ordering points go to placing the most dangerous warning sign first. Prevention earns credit when advice matches evidence, including keeping dietary calcium, rather than repeating myths. The instructor note is credited for explaining choices with sources in APA 7 and for reporting what the teach-back revealed and how it was corrected. Separating passing the current stone from preventing the next often makes a handout easier to use. A handout a patient could keep on the refrigerator for months shows the prevention advice was made practical.

Common NU142 Unit 7 mistakes, and how to avoid them

Kidney stone handouts often tell patients to avoid calcium, which can increase the risk of the most common stones by allowing more oxalate to be absorbed. Another frequent gap is listing warning signs without ranking them, so fever sits beside mild nausea. Some handouts give fluid advice only for the next few days instead of for life. Many forget to say why the stone should be saved. Keep dietary calcium, put fever first in the warning list, make fluid a permanent habit, explain why the stone is tested, use short action statements, and check through teach-back that the patient has not taken away a myth instead of the message.

Get an NU142 Unit 7 example written to your instructions

Teaching topics in Unit 7 range from stones to catheters, infections and chronic kidney disease. Send the topic and patient profile your section assigned, the rubric, and any required reading-level target; the handout and its rationale page follow them. Nothing about a real patient needs to be included. The first custom sample is free, usually within 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.

More NU142 papers and BSN samples

NU142 Unit 7 questions, answered

Where can I find a free NU142 Unit 7 sample paper?

You can read the complete NU142 Unit 7 kidney stone handout here, covering passing the stone, warning signs, prevention and an instructor note with teach-back, citing three sources. If your assignment is a different urinary problem, we can write that handout too.

Why strain urine after a kidney stone?

To catch the stone so it can be tested. Knowing what the stone is made of guides the advice and medicines that help prevent the next one.

Should people with kidney stones avoid calcium?

Usually not. Normal dietary calcium binds oxalate in the gut and can help prevent the most common stones. Cutting it out may increase risk, so the handout keeps milk and yogurt unless told otherwise.

Why is fever the first warning sign in NU142 Unit 7?

A stone that blocks the kidney while infection is present can become life-threatening within hours and may need urgent drainage, so fever with a stone means returning right away.

What is the most important step to prevent another stone?

Drinking enough fluid every day to produce about two and a half liters of urine, as a permanent habit rather than only while the current stone passes.