 Two goals in the Total Nursing Force Strategic Plan are to spearhead customer-driven nursing practices that meet customer needs and to build healthy communities. Meeting customer needs means educating customers to become knowledgeable health consumers. Three ways to become knowledgeable consumers are to work in partnership with your health care team, to share in medical decisions and to become skilled at obtaining medical care. Being a knowledgeable health consumer is as simple as wearing your seat belt, taking your medication as prescribed, knowing what to do when your child is ill, or keeping immunizations up to date. Let's take a few minutes and share some examples that will help you know how to become a knowledgeable health consumer. Children spend a great deal of each day at home where they eat, sleep, and play. For most children, home is where they feel safe, secure, and comfortable, but homes can be harmful to children. Children spend more time close to the ground where many hazards are found, and children will put things into their mouths. Hazards in the home cannot be avoided completely, but you can become knowledgeable health consumers and protect your children from these hazards. First of all, be aware of your children's activities. Know where they are at all times and with what they are playing. Secondly, child-proof your home. Install cabinet safety locks, outlet covers, and toilet seat locks. Store hazardous items in safe places. Third, if a child does swallow something dangerous, bring any and all suspected items with you to the emergency room. Become a knowledgeable health consumer when feeding your children. Those are way too big. Cut those up a lot smaller so we don't... Reduce the risk of choking hazards by cutting foods into very small bite-sized pieces and always stay nearby when children are eating. Know what to do in a choking situation. Learn how to perform child and infant CPR and keep a list of emergency numbers next to your phone. If your child is sick, remember these simple activities to be knowledgeable health consumers and prepare for a visit to the doctor. At the first sign of an illness, observe and record symptoms in a journal to bring with you. No, under his arm? Oh, alright, I leave it there for five minutes. This will help your doctor more accurately diagnose the problem. In your journal, specifically describe each symptom. Be sure to write down anything unusual that might be related to the problem. Keep a list of medications your child is taking. Measure and record temperature and respiration rate. Prepare a list of questions to ask your doctor and write the answers in your journal when you hear them. When you're at the doctor's office, always ask for clarification if you don't understand what he or she is telling you. I'm glad you're able to come out to my house and make a home visit for us. Well, I'm glad I was able to get out here and do that. You are the frontline partner in the medical partnership. Common Sense will let you manage a lot of minor problems on your own. A knowledgeable health consumer will create a self-care plan. Research information and learn all you can about the problem. Keep a journal of all your symptoms and self-care administered, along with any over-the-counter medications taken. So, send your heart attack. How have you been feeling? I'm a little tired. Okay, that's expected. I'm going to go over your medications, Mr. Crane, and we're going to review them. Decide whether home treatment is helping, and if not, set a time to call a health care professional if the problem continues. And always take prescribed medications properly, as directed by your health care official. There may be a tendency for you to stop your medication, but it's very important that you take all of this until the last one. Remember, knowledge is power. To obtain that power, become a knowledgeable health consumer.