- With Mayo Clinic diabetes educators
Nancy Klobassa Davidson, R.N., and Peggy Moreland, R.N.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
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.
Latest entries
- Diabetes costs
May 11, 2012
- Type 2 diabetes medications: How to choose
May 1, 2012
- Insulin and needle length
April 5, 2012
- Diabetes awareness
March 27, 2012
- Diabetes and hearing loss
March 8, 2012
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Living with diabetes blog
-
May 19, 2011
Managing diabetes: How to make changes
By Nancy Klobassa Davidson, R.N., and Peggy Moreland, R.N.
I think change gets harder with age. I cringe inside when I find out I'm going to have to change the way I've been doing something at work and learn a new way, for example. It seems the only thing we can be certain about with change is that it will happen again. Health care behaviors seem to be some of the hardest changes to make.
A number of theories about human behavior and change exist. One such theory, by Kurt Lewin and Edgar Schein, proposes that change is a three-stage process — unfreezing a behavior, changing, and then refreezing the new behavior.
Getting motivated: Unfreezing
The first stage — the unfreezing stage — is becoming motivated to change. How do we become motivated to change? A new diagnosis of diabetes, a poor A1C report from the medical care provider, nudges from a family member or self-evaluation all might motivate change. At this stage, the change process becomes a mental game of mind over matter. We realize the current situation isn't working and that ignoring the condition won't make things better. Real and unreal anxieties can slow down and impede the process of change. You might question if you can change, how to start or if it will make a difference.
Making changes
The change stage follows making the decision that a change needs to occur. Next, we must decide what needs to change. Activities that help us change are beneficial in the change stage. These activities might include:
- Choosing a specific behavior you want to work on changing
- Being realistic — avoid trying to change everything at once
- Writing down the change and posting it in plain sight to give yourself a daily reminder
- Discussing the change with others around you and asking for their support and encouragement
- Finding a support group
- Seeing your diabetes health care team regularly
- Changing your environment to support your change, such as getting snacks out of the home
Making it permanent: Refreezing
The refreezing stage — making the change permanent — is probably the hardest stage. This final stage is when the change becomes habitual and includes developing a new self-concept. You become a person identifying and living for wellness.
Your thoughts?
Have a great week!
Nancy
9 comments posted
Share on:
9 comments posted