ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to identify and prioritize the educational needs of congestive heart failure [CHF] patients and to compare the perceived educational needs from the patients' and nurses' perspective and propose a suggested teaching plan. The study was conducted over three months in the Cardiology and Medical units of El- Mania University Hospital. The study included a sample of 30 CHF patients [7 females and 23 males] and 30 nurses. The patients were literate with a definite diagnosis of CHF. The tools for data collection included the sociodemographic and medical data sheet for patients and nurses and the card sort techniques, which were used to rank the order of importance of the educational topics related to heart failure. The study concluded that CHF patients may differ from each other as regards their educational needs. Nurses should consider each patient's educational need. The card sort method is a suitable and easy tool for use to identify the patients' educational needs. It can be used in an outpatient setting. An integral part of the teaching and discharge plan should involve preparing the patient for home care. Prior to patient's discharge, the nurse should make sure that each patient could get all his/her educational needs