A description is provided of "Patient Education for Nurses," a required course for second-year nursing students which focuses on the assessment of the learning needs of adults, and the planning and and implemention of formal patient education. First, general information on the significance of the course and its place in the School of Nursing curriculum is presented. Following a glossary of terms, short- and and long-range objectives for the course are enumerated, and required and recommended texts and general references are listed. Next, descriptions are provided for the course's 10 units, including a statement of unit goals and related objectives, and a list of reading assignments. The units cover: (1) Learning Theories/Domains; (2) Teaching Theory; (3) Assessing Learning Needs and Patient Readiness to Learn; (4) Goals and Objectives; (5) The Patient Education Process; (6) Writing a Teaching Plan and Documenting the Process; (7) Teaching Tools; (8) Evaluation of Patient Teaching; (9) The Patient Education Process for Patients with Special Needs; and (10) Implementation of the Patient Teaching Process. Finally, procedures for evaluating nursing students' achievement in the course are outlined. An appendix contains class handouts related to the units. (MPH)