Shortened hospitalizations following cardiac surgery necessitate re-evaluation of how pertinent information for self-care management and reduction of coronary artery disease risk factors can be incorporated into an effective inpatient cardiac patient teaching program. This study investigated the effect of three different teaching approaches (ie, an inpatient teaching program, a postdischarge telephone follow-up program, and a postdischarge group teaching program) among 90 patients who had undergone coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Teaching outcomes were evaluated in this study by use of the Heart Disease Management Questionnaire and Cardiac Surgical Patient Teaching Satisfaction Inventory. Analyses of the data revealed similar patient teaching outcomes regardless of the type of teaching intervention the participant received. Findings supported the effectiveness of the inpatient teaching protocol which focused on "survival skills" for self-care management postdischarge. The findings are important in the redesign of teaching programs which are efficient yet meaningful to the patient within today's health care environment. Additional findings indicated that patients who had longer lengths of stay and those with more vessels bypassed were the least satisfied with their teaching. Further implications for nurses involved in patient teaching are discussed.

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