- With Mayo Clinic diabetes educators
Nancy Klobassa Davidson, R.N., and Peggy Moreland, R.N.
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Nancy Klobassa Davidson, R.N., and Peggy Moreland, R.N.
Nancy Klobassa Davidson and Peggy Moreland
Nancy Klobassa Davidson, R.N., B.S.N, C.D.E
Nancy Klobassa Davidson is a registered nurse who has worked in diabetes education for 17 years. She is a certified diabetes educator (C.D.E.) and is currently in graduate school working on a Master of Science in nursing (M.S.N.) and health care education.Nancy works with adults who have type 1, type 2 and other forms of diabetes. Nancy is coordinator of the Diabetes Unit's intensive insulin therapy program within the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, Metabolism, & Nutrition at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Nancy has worked extensively with insulin pump therapy and continuous interstitial glucose sensing.
Peggy Moreland, R.N., M.S.N.
Peggy Moreland is a certified diabetes educator (C.D.E.) in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, Metabolism, & Nutrition at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.Peggy graduated with a Master of Science in Nursing and Health Care Education from the University of Phoenix and is a member of the American Association of Diabetes Educators and the American Diabetes Association. A certified diabetes educator (C.D.E.), Peggy enjoys working with patients to set and achieve diabetes self-management goals.
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Living with diabetes blog
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March 13, 2010
Diabetes educators play key role
By Nancy Klobassa Davidson, R.N., and Peggy Moreland, R.N.
Less than half of the people diagnosed with diabetes have had some type of self-management class, according to the American Association of Diabetes Educators. Only about 1 percent of Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes have had diabetes self-management training. That's shocking! Self-management education is an essential for optimal diabetes care, yet diabetes education programs are greatly underused.
Diabetes education
Diabetes education offers people with diabetes or at risk for diabetes the knowledge and skills needed to modify behavior and successfully self-manage diabetes and its related conditions. Education helps people with diabetes to achieve optimal health status, and reduces complications such as coronary artery disease, limb loss, renal disease, and vision loss. It also improves quality of life and reduces the need for costly health care in the future.
Why a certified diabetes educator?
We recommend that all those with diabetes should ideally meet with a certified diabetes educator (CDE). A CDE must meet several criteria in order to be certified in diabetes education. A CDE can be a registered nurse, dietician, doctor, pharmacist, or other licensed professional. To become a CDE, a healthcare professional must:
- Complete at least 2 years of professional practice and be specifically involved with diabetes education for 2 qualifying years.
- Acquire at least 1000 hours of experience in a health care environment where he/she provides services as a diabetes educator.
- Must hold a job in a health care facility that treats diabetes on a regular basis.
- Must work at least 32 hours a week in diabetes education.
- Must successfully pass the National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators examination. The fee for this exam is $350 and consists of 200 questions that you must complete within four hours.
- Once a diabetes educator becomes certified, he/she must maintain certification by retaking the exam or gaining continuing education credits every 5 years.
CEDs have the expertise to help you manage your diabetes. They provide vital insights into self-care behaviors that help you keep your diabetes in check: managing blood sugar, medication and insulin dose adjustment instruction, monitoring and exercise information. Many CDEs also specialize in insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring sensors.
Most of all, the CDE empowers you to partner in your own health care. The American Association of Diabetes Educators provides a search tool to help you find a certified diabetes educator in your geographic.
International readers with diabetes should check with the International Diabetes Federation for a diabetes education specialist near you.
Have you visited with a certified diabetes educator in the past 12 months?
Peggy
11 comments posted
March 22, 2012 10:03 a.m.
Response to Kathy who feels, "A diabetic diet is impossible to maintain, when there are non diabetics eating." Nonsense -- it CAN & IS being done daily by hundreds of thousands of diabetics. If I can, with my HORRIBLE old eating habits & addictions, ANYBODY can learn it! I eat great, every day, all day. I CHOOSE health & hope for long life & no amputations, blindness, or kidney disease. Go for it! Call a diab. educator -- daily if you need it. Eat like I do -- yummy fat-free yogurt, oranges, apples, pineapple, kiwi, strawberries -- WHOLE fruits, no juice! Diet soda & V-8 juice, sugar-free popsicles & jello & pudding. A ton of raw veggies cut up & dipped in fat-free Ranch dressing, lots of salad greens & fresh spinach, mushrooms, chicken, fish, turkey, eggs, (very little beef/pork/bread/rice/pasta/potatoes. Nothing fried / deep-fried / breaded. I get full & satisfied & NEVER go hungry. I never have a food craving anymore! Not even for chocolate! Why? Because now I'm NOURISHED & get my vitamins, minerals & micro-nutrients that my poor body used to crave, back when I ate whole bags of chips, cookies, quarts of ice cream, candy bars, whole pizzas & fast food every day like crazy! I was SICK, w/ an A1-C of 15.9! Was ALWAYS ABSOLUTELY RAVENOUS! Now I eat 3 meals/day & 1 or 2 snacks & am full, satisfied & guilt-free. A1-C down to 6.0. It's DO-ABLE! GO FOR IT! NEVER GIVE UP! You ar
- Linda
October 20, 2011 10:42 a.m.
Phyllis: the nutritionist that "specializes in diabetes" may not be a certified diabetes educator (CDE). A CDE is certified by the National Certification Board for Diabetes.
- Nancy and Peggy
June 16, 2011 2:00 p.m.
Be vewy vewy careful! A few years ago my dr suggested I see a nutritionist at our local hospital who specializes in diabetes. I have T1 and am on a strict insulin regimen. She told me that activity does NOT lower blood sugars (WRONG!). She also wanted me to skip taking insulin at my noon meal. I only did that a couple of days and my sugars were sky high so I called my dr. She was flabbergasted! I ignored the dietitian's "activity doesn't affect blood sugars" statement and went back to my normal insulin regimen. When my current dr suggested I go see this same nutritionist, I told her exactly how I felt (that she's a quack) and would not even consider it.
- Phyllis
August 16, 2010 2:25 a.m.
Jennifer- As I said to Jackie get a hold of Diabeties of America this place is great and ha stold me everything about the pump. I have been on the pump for 6 months and has done wonders to my gluclose levels. It is almost like a very expensive needle, But also you can get a pump that comes with a meter that goes to the pump and the numbers are down loaded into the pump and can give you the right amount of insulin you need. If you are serious about contolling this illness get a pump and contact Diabeties of America. Good Luck
- Aaron
August 16, 2010 2:16 a.m.
Jackie I am a Diabetic since 96 and i would eat anything. Maybe thats why my blood sugar was out of control. Anyway my Dr. sent me to a place where they have a Dr. that specializes in Diabetes and also has a CDE there as well. This place was " Diabeties of America " They has several places across the county and even if I have a question or a problem I can just walk in and the CDE will speak to me no problem. If you can try to find this place and get there. They will change your life.
- Aaron
July 15, 2010 1:31 p.m.
Jackie- we are glad that you are making good lifestyle changes! Hang in there. There are several good resources out there that will help you make healthy choices. The American Diabetes Association has several excellent books regarding diet. The Mayo Clinic Diet book is also an excellent resource. The Mayo Clinic helps you to work to reshape your lifestyle by breaking unhealthy old habits and adopt healthy new habits that will lead you down a path toward better health.
- Nancy and Peggy
June 23, 2010 12:44 p.m.
Just diagnosed with prediabetes and must lose weight and change my diet. A couple of complications; I must also be on an anti-inflammatory diet and I can not eat anything with artificial sweeteners. I also don't want to make 2 meals so foods would have to be for my family as well. Seeing a nutritionist is not covered by my insurance so where can I get information on what foods to eat and menus/recipes that would take into consideration these other issues? Any help would be greatly appreciated, I have been overwhelmed.
- Jackie
May 21, 2010 11:41 a.m.
I've been Type 1 for 35 years, have had docs and CDEs asking me for years if I was "interested in using an insulin pump". Only by talking with other diabetics, just recently, did I ever heard about the real benefits of using a pump. Which seem like they'd be useful for T1 and T2 diabetics, though barely any diabetics T1 or T2 use them. I'm now looking into it, now that I know how useful they can be. No CDE, doc, or nurse, though, has ever told me the particulars. Which IS shocking! I really think it's shameful for docs or anyone to recommend any therapy for diabetics without spelling out the glucose leveling attributes that a pump combined with a CGM (continuous glucose monitor) can deliver. All the oral meds for T2s boggle my mind. I recently met a T2 guy, incredibly painstakingly documenting his food + glucose tests, post-kidney transplant and heart surgery, with a CDE at the meeting, who didn't go into the benefits of using a pump, either, in spite of his saying his glucose levels were "normally 300 to 400". I pushed and pushed for a CGM once I heard insurance was covering them, and... it's invaluable. Now, on to the pump. Finally!
- jennifer
March 18, 2010 11:29 a.m.
I highly recommend the website HealthyOutcomes.com It is designed to help diabetes patients learn about their disease in an easy-to-use format. Patients can directly and privately ask Diabetes Educators questions--and get personal answers. Users earn points for completing learning modules which are redeemed for free merchandise--items like diabetes thermometers, diabetic friendly food, and lancets. You don't even need to pay shipping. It's a very useful site.
- Carol
March 17, 2010 10:13 p.m.
I have a husband who has been a type two diabetic for 20 years. A diabetic diet is impossible to maintain, when there are non diabetics eating. Science must find a better way to manage this disease - depriving ourselves of what we want to eat is a sure way to fail. That is why so many diet programs fail. They require will power that most people do not have.
- kathy
March 17, 2010 10:52 a.m.
I need help with a report on hypoglycemia induced cardiac arrest. i am a paramedic and just experienced this with a pt who had no history of diabetes. Any of site I can access would appreciated.
- Mike
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