Quality Diabetes Education Initiative - Montana Diabetes Program (MT DPHHS)
November is National Diabetes Month, but the first week of November marks National Diabetes Education Week, and celebrates the work of diabetes educators! As diabetes educators in Montana, we have so much to be proud of! You all work incredibly hard and care so much about persons with diabetes (PWD) and your communities, and you have made a huge impact! You make a difference every day!
For the past 15 years, the Montana Diabetes Program has supported the Quality Diabetes Education Initiative, which has the goal of increasing access to diabetes self-management education, particularly in rural areas and in disparate populations. This program has two main arms:
1.) To provide a FREE self-study and peer-mentoring program for health professionals in diabetes care and education
2.) To provide technical assistance to outpatient sites in developing diabetes self-management education programs and assist them in pursuing recognition/accreditation so that they can bill for DSME/S services.
By increasing the number of qualified professional diabetes educators and the number of high-quality diabetes education programs, the Montana Diabetes Program hopes to increase access to diabetes self-management education for those with diabetes, and to ultimately decrease the burden of diabetes in Montana.
Montana has increased the number of CDEs from 52 in 2000 to 90 currently, most new CDEs coming from the mentoring program. Montana has also increased the number of recognized programs from 2 to over 30, many in very rural areas. These increases are remarkable and our work here in Montana has been recognized nationally.
We have been very successful at increasing access to diabetes education here in Montana, in large part because of the efforts of so many of the dedicated and gracious Montana diabetes educators! (Meaning YOU ALL!!) Many CDEs have volunteered their time to be mentors, training new educators and helping them obtain the knowledge and skills we all need to effectively help PWD manage their disease and stay healthy. Our most sincere THANK YOU goes to all the volunteer mentors who help our profession and our patients!! If you are a CDE, and wish to become a mentor for the Montana Diabetes Program, here are a couple of thoughts about mentoring partnerships:
What is mentoring?
Mentoring is most often defined as a professional relationship in which an experienced person (the mentor) assists another (the mentee) in developing specific skills and knowledge that will enhance the less-experienced person’s professional and personal growth.
What does a mentor do?
The following are among the mentor’s functions:
- Teaches the mentee about a specific issue
- Coaches the mentee on a particular skill
- Facilitates the mentee’s growth by sharing resources and networks
- Challenges the mentee to move beyond his or her comfort zone
- Creates a safe learning environment for taking risks
- Focuses on the mentee’s total development
On the flip side, if you are a health professional interested in improving your skills in the arena of diabetes self-management education and support, the mentoring program is an exciting option for self-development! You are paired with a CDE and encouraged to discuss cases, ask questions, observe diabetes education "in action," and you also have access to the Montana Diabetes Program's extensive lending library and resources. We wish that the mentoring relationship be something that is really special and one that can help you meet your goals of becoming a skilled professional diabetes educator!
If you have an interest in serving as a mentor or would like to enroll in the peer-mentoring program, please contact Marci Butcher, RD, CDE - Quality Diabetes Education Intiative Coordinator, Montana Diabetes Program. 405-535-4797 or mbutcher@midrivers.com