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Project Vision & Diabetes Care & Education Specialists

By Sarah Terranova posted 09-08-2019 18:20

  

The final session of AADE was August 12, and since then there has been substantial buzz about "Project Vision", as well as the title: "Diabetes Care & Education Specialist".  

It is fair to say that more than just fantastic sessions came out of AADE 2019!!

This all said, what does this mean for Diabetes Educators, and what does Project Vision mean???

Project Vision:

"AADE has created PROJECT VISION, a multi-year initiative to position diabetes educators for success within a dynamically changing environment, elevating your role as integrators for clinical management, education, prevention and support."

As Diabetes Educators this is a good thing for us, it is AADE focusing on bolstering & solidifying our roles as the healthcare landscape, and the technology that surrounds it, changes.  

Regardless of the area in diabetes we work in, and which specific facet of healthcare we work in, we can all agree, that if we look back over the last 10 years, 5 years, and even 2 years both the landscape of healthcare has changed, and also the landscape of diabetes!!

We have new ways to bill, and communicate with patients, and achieve outcomes, all of which can be enhanced and helped by technology.  Things are moving at an incredibly rapid rate!! 

Yet while this is a very exciting time, it is very overwhelming for both patients, & caregivers, as well as educators, and other healthcare providers.

Herein lies Project Vision - it our organization's commitment to us, as Educators to help us drive change, as opposed to adapting to change.  

AADE's Board of Directors has developed a framework to aid in achieving this vision:

2015_2020 Dietary guidelines snap.JPG

 

Looking at this framework, I recognize that I, as well as many of my colleagues already do many of these things, if not each one on a daily basis!!  How often, as educators, do we go from reviewing a download to transitioning into wearing our "therapist hat" and tackling the behavioral & emotional facets that accompany diabetes, and while doing that also considering other co-morbid conditions & risk factor, all while individualizing the plan of care to our patient. 

Project Vision may sound like a lot, it is truly what many educators already do on a daily basis. This vision is to create a more seamless path to connect all of these pieces of the framework.  The achieving the Quadruple Arm also ties in significantly with the changing healthcare landscape.  Now more than ever Health Systems are being "metric'd" on patient outcomes, and/or patient satisfaction; as the Quad Arm incorporates: Patient Experience, provider well-being, population health, & cost of care.  

All while continuing to put the patient and their needs at the center of care, and potentially utilizing a more holistic approach than what has traditionally been done.  

 

In terms of next steps, both educators and AADE have some, AADE plans: to provide structure and educational opportunities that allow diabetes educators to be able to take on new skills and expand their roles, re-examine and redefine the diabetes educator’s practice levels, competencies and credentialing, & continue to be our champion through our conversations and partnerships with various stakeholder groups – payer and provider groups, legislative decision makers and the peer support community – in order to promote your enhanced role.  

As diabetes educators, we have next steps too: 

  • Embrace an expanded role that will offer patients more holistic care.
  • Commit to being an advocate for yourselves within your health systems. In many instances, diabetes educators already have an expanded role beyond “education.” It’s time to own it and make sure others know it.
  • Take advantage of current and new educational opportunities when there are gaps in knowledge or skills.
  • More forcefully acknowledge your expertise in diabetes management.

And also to remain engaged as this is still in its infancy stages, and not fully rolled out.  In addition to the above points (from AADE) I will be so bold to add - ask questions, engage in your LNGs, National Board, and COIs to discuss what you are already doing, and seek out other best practices.  

Lastly, how will Project Vision impact the CDE and/or BC-ADM credential?  

At this time, it is unclear, however AADE is working with NCBDE to review each credential to ensure they reflect the future framework, so don't panic - this does not necessarily mean you will need to retake exams, and/or order new business cards!  

 

In closing it is imperative to be familiar with this Vision, if you are interested in more information please do any of the following:

  • Navigate to https://www.diabeteseducator.org/about-aade/project-vision
  • Log into your AADE Network and start a thread in your State Network Discussions - engage with your fellow educators to see how they are already implementing aspects of this framework, and discuss plans & actionable items to implement more pieces of the framework!

Looking forward to hearing back from some of you soon on your thoughts surrounding Project Vision!

 

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09-16-2019 13:26

Project Vision and Diabetes Care and Education Specialists

If you missed the September 5 webinar on the Vision and the future for our specialty -check out the AADE website for the recording of this webinar.