What does a diabetes educator DO??

[hanadr]

I started a correspondence with the local diabetes educator, after PALS put me on to them. She said she could discuss, with me and my GP together, my request for strips. I refused to tell her who my GP is until I had cleared it with him. I did this last week and sent to the Educator that I'd meet her.
Do you think I've had an answer?
In addition, I find that Neither DESMOND,nor DAFNE courses are run in this area, due to lack of funding apparently. So what do these 2 Educators Do?
I've never had the benefit of their help and neither has my T1 husband. In fact he's just got an appointment with a dietician, to learn carb counting (after 35 years!!)

 

[ally5555]

are they nurses ?

If they dont run dafne etc they may have some more basic courses. The local hopsital that covers the 2 surgeries i work for run dafne and expert but I top it up with a smaller gp lead course that runs over 3 weeks for 2 hours. This is often more use to some of my older clients.

In wales we also have dafydd - i talk on one that covering diet and excercise.

It is expensive to run these courses esp dafne has you have to get the team trained and approved.

 

[hanadr]

Since I'm not getting a reply, I don't know what qualifications these people have

 

[Geoff]

Diabetes educators are a type of specialist diabetic nurse, like all nurses they can be male or female, their one function is usually working in large diabetic clinics in hospitals, alongside diabetic nurses, . I did an Open University course for diabetic technician a couple of years ago, not long after I was diagnosed type 1, the tutor for the course was a diabetic educator, from the Heath hospital in Cardiff.

 

[ally5555]

just curious if you do that course what can you do with it ?

Most diabetic specialist nurses do something like the masters module at warwick

 

[totsy]

ive done understanding diabetes with the ou as part of my degree

 

[Geoff]

Hello ally, I did the OU Diabetic Care technicians course just to help me understand my condition better, part of the NHS self empowerment thing, but not being employed by the NHS, I can not get a job with it because it is just theory, you need clinical experience also. but in England there are also some Diabetic Care Technicians attached to hospital clinics, there function is to do some parts of a persons annual review and to help people with basic diabetic issues.

 

[stockcar19]

What does a diabetes educator DO??

Probably about 20 hours a week and 19 of those with the answerphone on so he/she doesn't get disturbed by one of those nuisances(sorry,patients).