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Question about DAFNE course

M

Mad76

Well-Known Member
Messages
319
Location
London
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi all,

Quick question..I've been invited to attend a daphne course at the hospital in june. Read lots about it on here. Everyone seems really positive so I was jumping at the chance.
But I've just got the letter through. Its 5 days. 9-5 each day.
These hours for a week are near on impossible for me. I need some hours caring for elderly parent plus childcare issues

Do any of you have any experience of being allowed to maybe leave a couple of hours early ?? Or do you think theres no chance??

I'm gutted at the idea of not going oi n the course, but I dont think realistically I'll be able to do those hours .
 
Mad76 said:
I'm gutted at the idea of not going oi n the course, but I dont think realistically I'll be able to do those hours .
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You should always put your family first, just tell them you are unavailable because of other family commitments.
 
Hello, you could ask the hospital about DAFNE doing 1 day a week. I was given the choice of doing it in a week or one session per week. If you can’t go, you’ll have to tell them due to commitments. If you have to leave a few hours early each day then it’s not much point doing it because it’s different subjects/topics each day and they don’t repeat.
 
Is there no option for one day a week? I'm sure that can be delivered too!
 
As others have said, once a week for 5 weeks should be available, although it might not be at your clinic but definitely worth asking about it....
 
Thanks guys, I shall certainly ask. It wasnt mentioned or offered to me as an option though.
 
Mad76 said:
Thanks guys, I shall certainly ask. It wasnt mentioned or offered to me as an option though.
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Mad76, I have no reason to question what others have said, but I might be inclined, rather than ask for a specific alternative, like one day a week, to ask what alternatives there are to the full 5days back to back. That way the can't just say yes or no.

If they say there is no alternative, you can always chip in and ask if it could possibly be done?

Just trying to think of how you have the best chance of being offered something helpful..

God luck with it. As you say, others have got a lot from their DAFNE experiences.
 
Mad76 said:
Thanks guys, I shall certainly ask. It wasnt mentioned or offered to me as an option though.
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I have done both 1 day x 5 over a number of weeks and a 1 day course more recently. It was worth doing to get peer support and to be given access to a FSL (this is a critieria if you don't already have this prescribed).
I think your option of leaving early is a good one since you could ask the DSN delivering it for written materials in case you are missing out on some useful info. If you are courteous about your limitations I am sure they will be supportive so don't give up that place and see if you can speak to them to allay any anxieties about your plan.
As I recall a lot of the course is discussion, knowledge and then practising what you've learnt about carb countinge etc. so there was a lot of repetition.
Another alternative is this https://www.bertieonline.org.uk/ which is online so you wouldn't get the peer support part of DAPHNE.
I was working at the time and had small kids plus pregnant but my employer did let me attend without using up Annual Leave.
 
whereabouts are you? I'm on a DAFNE course next week and can ask the instructor on your behalf about avaliability of 1 day a week if you like?
 
localshop said:
whereabouts are you? I'm on a DAFNE course next week and can ask the instructor on your behalf about avaliability of 1 day a week if you like?
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I'm in west london. Hillingdon. If you could ask that be great !
 
Is Bertie online the same as daphne?? If so that may well be my fallback if they are inflexible
 
Thanks for that advice. I'm just gearing myself up to email and ask if there are any other options available
 
@Mad76 . My experience with DAFNE was as follows.
All but one course a year is a full week. One course was split over 5 weeks.
9 to 5. This wasn’t the case on my course. Mon to Thurs we finished no later than 3 p.m. Fri we finished midday and then had a quiz and a chat.
The course was extremely laid back. If you need to get up and leave at anytime no body was concerned. One guy couldn’t make 9 a.m , this didn’t seem to bother the tutors. The course in the main is something that you can miss bits here and there but still get all the important stuff.
Definitely don’t miss out on the course if you can help it.
Good luck with getting something sorted.
 
Wow. That's great to hear. I really hope it's the same here. Fingers crossed
 
From experience when I attended the course we were done by 14.30 most days. Obviously this will depend on a few factors so could be different for yourself. I would definitely recommend the course though, I hope you manage to find a solution.
 
Mad76 said:
Is Bertie online the same as daphne?? If so that may well be my fallback if they are inflexible
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Well it can't be the same because you are not ini the room with a bunch of diabetics and a nurse/dietiican but it will give you the basics of carb counting if that is what you are really after! The courses were not designed by the same organisations but I guess Bertie has been created to meet a need for a more flexible course option!
 
I had exactly the same expeience. Get on the course and suit yourself once you are there. it isn't a pass/fail kind of thing so zero stress. The more you do the more you get out of it so try and get as much cover as you can for the 5 days.. move the old-folks care to later in the day and get some kid minders in for the 5 days. Sorry I know I make it sound a whole lot easier than life really is. Seriously worthwhile course but be prepared for seriously different learning speeds across the group
 
Thanks for the advice. I think I'm just going BBC to attend and approach the course leaders on the day and explain situation instead of flagging it up before.
 
philly1991 said:
From experience when I attended the course we were done by 14.30 most days. Obviously this will depend on a few factors so could be different for yourself. I would definitely recommend the course though, I hope you manage to find a solution.
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Thank you. I'm feeling quite encouraged and hopeful. If it was till 2.30 daily its be perfect. I could certainly work commitments around that
 
Mad76 said:
I'm in west london. Hillingdon. If you could ask that be great !
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apparently the instructors have to do an extra bit of training to deliver the course 1 day a week over 5 weeks, they said that there may not be anyone in your area able to do that at the moment. It's probably worth asking for a consultant appointment to find out why they can't offer this at the moment? It's definitely well worth doing the course, it's great!
 
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