Ally,
Just to clarify I few things here.
All Hp are registered with a statutory body like the HPC and there are strict codes of conduct. Dietitians have a protected title you could end up in court if you use it and are not reg! I am not allowed to sell supplements or endorse them or any other products. Othr hp have similar restrictions so I guess nurses and doctors also have to be careful giving advice like altering of insulin etc!
You have made an assumption that doctors and nurses are under the same regulations that you believe you have to practice under.
Health professionals such as doctors and nurses do indeed require to be registered with their professional bodies. Eg General Medical Council for doctors such as myself.
The code of conduct for doctors is this:
The duties of a doctor registered with the General Medical Council
Patients must be able to trust doctors with their lives and health. To justify that trust you must show respect for human life and you must:
Make the care of your patient your first concern
Protect and promote the health of patients and the public
Provide a good standard of practice and care
Keep your professional knowledge and skills up to date
Recognise and work within the limits of your competence
Work with colleagues in the ways that best serve patients' interests
Treat patients as individuals and respect their dignity
Treat patients politely and considerately
Respect patients' right to confidentiality
Work in partnership with patients
Listen to patients and respond to their concerns and preferences
Give patients the information they want or need in a way they can understand
Respect patients' right to reach decisions with you about their treatment and care
Support patients in caring for themselves to improve and maintain their health
Be honest and open and act with integrity
Act without delay if you have good reason to believe that you or a colleague may be putting patients at risk
Never discriminate unfairly against patients or colleagues
Never abuse your patients' trust in you or the public's trust in the profession.
You are personally accountable for your professional practice and must always be prepared to justify your decisions and actions.
As a matter of difference between dieticians and doctors, doctors are allowed to prescribe or recommend specific products and are also allowed to sell them in certain circumstances.
Although I can fully appreciate that it would be quite inappropriate for someone like yourself who is a simple dietician and not a diabetic or a personal carer of an insulin using diabetic, to give advice on insulin administration, this is not an issue for those who have expertise in this matter. Indeed I have lost count of the number of potential adverse incidents that have been averted by members of this forum both medical and non medical by giving appropriate and timely advice.
Unfortunately the state of health care in even developed countries such as the UK and the USA falls considerably short of what is needed for diabetics and those with other glucose metabolism problems. Access is limited by provision, timing and cost. The internet and forums such as this are filling a void here.
All posters on this forum whether health professionals or not owe it to their fellow participants to post with thought, consideration and kindness and within the areas of their knowledge, skills and experience.
Frankly, Ally, I'm not surprised that your criticism of Dr Bernstein met with hostility. You may have a degree of expertise on dietary matters but you do not appear to be able to demonstrate the ability to
normalise blood sugars for diabetics by dietary or other methods.
Sadly, this aspect of diabetes care is ignored my the majority of the medical and dietetic professions. Just because it is not apparently important to them does not minimise its importance to those who suffer from the consequences. This suffering is not just limited to diabetics but to their spouses, parents and children.
"Dead in bed", a serious car accident and a flu that in a weekend turns to death from ketoacidosis are some of the fears that we live with night and day. Dr Bernstein's method minimises hypoglycaemia and Jorgen Vestig Neilsen found that even 70-90g of carb a day reduces hypos by twenty times the baseline level in adult type ones. Dr Bernstein's sick day rules are far in advance of what is still promoted by Diabetes UK although I'm pleased to say that the ADA and DAFNE are catching up with his method.
Most of us recognise that normal blood sugars and perfect metabolic control is not absolutely necessary for everyone. In addition the behaviours and eating patterns that it takes to become what I call , "a superdiabetic" are not something that even willing people may feel able to do consistently. Therefore it is important that the range of accurate information is made available and that we allow people to make the personal decisions that only they are entitled to make.