A teachable moment found!

This morning I walked into a patient's room on the cardiac floor, expecting the usual quick assessment with little intervention needed. Much to my surprise, the patient asked me to help explain to her the diabetic diet, exchanges, how to work with exchanges for the 1500kcal diet her doctor recommended, and for a list of high iron foods. Not expecting this at all, I told her I needed to go get some handouts for her and that I would be right back. It was a slow day, so I was able to spend quite a bit of time with her. We sat next to one another on her bed and worked through all of her diet questions and more. When we finally finished, she gave me a big hug and seemed genuinely thrilled to finally understand how to go about following this diet that no one had yet taken the time to explain to her (she apparently had not seen any of the dietitians on previous visits). This encounter totally made my day!