Why Go to AADE? - blog by Kathy Jackson, MS, RN, CDE
Every year I go to AADE I become convinced that it is something that I need to do yearly because of all the information that is so relevant and stretches me to be a much better educator. It is so easy to get in a rut and do what I always do and stay the same in my thought processes. AADE challenges me and changes me for the better. This year going to AADE was even more important because my position has changed to a manager of inpatient and outpatient diabetes education. I learned invaluable information that actually was a must in my new role. Here are examples of how I was helped as an educator and as a manager:
At AADE I got to spend more time learning about the new drugs that I never seem to have time to study in-depth during my busy week. This year, I learned more about the drug categories GLP-1, SGLT2, and DDP-4s and comparing them. I have studied these in the past but had several Ah-Ha moments at AADE. I also went to a Bydureon demonstration and received a demo pen. As I was leaving that seminar, I received a text from my secretary telling me I had a patient the following week for Bydureon instruction. It was perfect timing!
On the inpatient side, I learned how one hospital got buy-in from medical and nursing staff for better inpatient blood sugar control. Since we are working towards our Disease Specific Certification for Inpatient Diabetes Care, this session provided ideas for us to consider adopting in our facility. Some examples of what I learned from them – At their hospital they gave the physicians an automated insulin dosing function based on the patient’s weight taking the guesswork out of the equation (which usually results in starting very low) and they had a chart for doctors to use for insulin titration. Basal insulin was automatically flagged for physicians to order if a patient is Type 1. They had nurse champions on every floor and they meet monthly. To become a nurse champion the nurses attend an 8 hour course.
AADE offers a program track for administrators which I took an attended as many other seminars as I could. I learned a few things that we have adopted immediately. For instance, MNT referrals must come from and MD or DO, no mid-level provider can sign that referral form but mid-level can sign the referral for DSME. Actually, in everything, MNT and DSMT are different and in my ignorance and with embarrassment I have to admit, I had been treating the requirements as the same. I learned that Medicare will be doing more audits to save the government money, which is a good thing. However, the auditor gets paid by the finding. Does that strike fear in your heart? It did me! Therefore, we need to really have an in-depth understanding of all the confusing Medicare requirements! And then of course, we need to understand the requirements of our program recognition body, AADE or ADA. As a result of this, I am working, with others, on putting one document together with all the requirements that we need so that we can make sure we are compliant with both entities.
Then I was challenged by several seminars on Telehealth and using technology in helping clients change behavior. This is cutting edge and if we don’t jump on, we will be left behind. Every year I am challenged to not accept status quo but to be proactive in my thinking of how to best deliver diabetes education. So quite frankly, I cannot afford NOT to attend. I have already applied some, no many, of the things I learned and I not only have I improved our bottom line, but we are delivering better quality care. The fact is we must reach patients where they are physically, emotionally and mentally so they have all the tools they need to improve their health. This is what AADE is all about.