Diabetes Educators

Core competencies for diabetes educators: A scoping review

AIMS

Diabetes educators (DEs) play a major role in diabetes education and management. The aims of this scoping review were to compile the currently identified core competencies for DEs and, to review the currently used criteria to assess DEs' core competencies.

METHODS

A scoping review was conducted using the methodology of the Joanna Briggs Institute. Five databases (Ovid, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science and PubMed) were searched. Keywords as well as inclusion and exclusion criteria were identified as search strategies and study selection for this review.

RESULTS

A total of (n = 22) publications comprising sixteen peer-reviewed studies and six professional-organisations (grey literature) were selected for review, as they listed the core competencies of DEs. The most common core competencies were related to knowledge and skills in diabetes self-management education, knowledge of pathophysiology and epidemiology, teaching skills, clinical skills and cultural competency. Evidently, an appropriate tool for assessing DEs' competencies is currently unavailable.

CONCLUSIONS

Given the importance of diabetes education in the care of people living with diabetes, it is imperative that DEs possess competencies in diabetes education and management. The review also identified the need to develop a globally applicable core competency assessment tool for DEs.

US Nurses’ Perceptions of Their Role in Diabetes Care

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to examine nurse and physician perceptions of nurse involvement and roles in diabetes care.

METHODS

The study used a cross-sectional design with face-to-face or telephone interviews of diabetes health care professionals in 13 countries from Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. This article focuses on the data from US health care providers. The US sample included 51 generalist nurses, 50 diabetes specialist nurses, 166 generalist physicians, and 50 diabetes specialist physicians.

RESULTS

Nurses and physicians agreed that nurses should take a larger role in managing diabetes. Most common differences identified between nurses and physicians were that nurses provide better education, spend more time with patients, were better listeners, and knew their patients better than physicians. All nurses had a high perceived need for better understanding of psychosocial issues and were more likely than physicians to suggest helping patients to take responsibility for their care. Nurses more than physicians also said better communication was needed. Generalist nurses report that they act as intermediaries and facilitate patient appointment keeping. Specialist nurses talk to patients about self-management, teach medication management, have a higher level of involvement in medication prescribing, and are more willing to take on additional responsibilities than generalist nurses.

CONCLUSIONS

There is an increased need for more involvement by nurses, particularly specialist nurses, in diabetes care.

National Role Delineation Study of the Board Certification for Advanced Diabetes Management: Evidence-Based Support of the New Test Content Outline

PURPOSE

The purpose of this comprehensive role delineation study of the Board Certification for Advanced Diabetes Management (BC-ADM) examination was to ensure its content validity.

METHOD

The comprehensive role delineation study was conducted in 3 phases. In the first phase, a panel of 12 currently credentialed BC-ADM subject matter experts produced a list of practice domains, a unique set of content subdomains for each, and a series of knowledge statements for every subdomain. In the second phase, a validation study survey consisting of 3 sections was created. The first section was to rate each subdomain on three factors: criticality, frequency, and point in career at which knowledge is first used. The second section asked respondents to estimate the percentage of the examination to dedicate to the four domains. The third section captured demographic information of the respondents. A total of 667 BC-ADMs and 18 physicians were invited to take the survey. In the third phase, the subject matter expert panel analyzed the survey results and determined the weight that the domains and subdomains should have on the 150-item BC-ADM examination.

RESULTS

Final domain weights and the corresponding number of items for the BC-ADM examination are provided in this report; these constitute the BC-ADM examination blueprint.

CONCLUSIONS

The national role delineation study reported here for the BC-ADM examination ensures that it is reflective of the current practice and required knowledge of the advanced diabetes manager.

The factors that limit activities of certified diabetes educators in Japan: a questionnaire survey

Background

The certified diabetes educator (CDE) is a qualification awarded to health professionals with specialized knowledge, skills, and experiences in diabetes management and education. To clarify whether CDEs consider themselves to be working sufficiently, in other words, making sufficient use of their specialized skills or not, a questionnaire survey was conducted.

The participants were persons involved in diabetes-related educational seminars and medical personnel engaged in diabetes care at the National Center for Global Health and Medicine. They were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding self -perception of CDE’s activities and to describe the reasons for their answers.

Findings

Fewer than 40% of the responding CDEs in each of the professions surveyed were satisfied with the current state of their activities and contributions as a CDE. For CDEs, “lack of labor” is the most concerning issue that limits their satisfactory activities as CDEs, followed by “condition of facilities”. Other factors such as insufficient “interprofessional teamwork”, “limited personal ability”, “mismatched allocation”, and “low recognition for CDEs” also limited their activities.

Conclusion

Many CDEs perceived they are not working sufficiently. Further efforts should be made to support CDEs to improve their working conditions.

Methodology and feasibility of a structured education program for diabetes education in India: The National Diabetes Educator Program

India has over 62 million people with diabetes. Unfortunately, there are no trained diabetes educators in India although many are self-taught through experience. The National Diabetes Educator Program (NDEP) was initiated with the primary aim to educate and train diabetes educators in India. The first cycle of NDEP was conducted during the period June 2011 to March 2012 in 96 training centers in India and trained 1032 diabetes educators mainly drawn from various diabetes clinics across the country. Structured modules were taught by diabetologists/endocrinologists or experienced educators. A majority of the trainees attended all sessions and 95% of the trainees acknowledged that the program met its objective and was beneficial to them. This article elaborates the methodology of the program and its evaluation based on feedback received from the participants and trainers.