Many future health practitioners are still educated in a paradigm where performance and quantity are overrated. As a result, the intensity of educational programs for nursing and medical students, and residents in particular, imposes extreme demands that make the integration of self- care concepts into their own lives quite difficult. The educational role of practicing nurses and physicians is often not well recognized. The most effective educational strategies concerning self-care are usually not part of the professional education of physicians, whereas such strategies are included in the university education of nurses. Another barrier is the widely held idea that educating patients is a simple and easy skill.
Some students still see patient education as simple delivery of information.
The participants also insisted that there is too little input in curricula development from informed consumers. Such input could enhance the complementarity of the scientific knowledge of health care professionals and the experiential knowledge of the patient. Practice setting of health care professionals With the recent financial restrictions within the health care system, many nurses and physicians have seen an increase in their tasks and responsibilities, which limits their ability to promote self-care. Nevertheless, several participants suggested that some of the financial or structural barriers could be turned into assets. Time limitations, for example, can encourage nurses and physicians to offer educational group sessions, to collaborate with other health professionals and voluntary organizations in providing education and support, or to refer their clients to self-care programs or tools.