As a Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, motivational interviewing (MI) becomes an important part of a skill set when working with people with diabetes. Making behavior changes can be a struggle for everyone. Diabetes Care and Education Specialists can refine their skills to help participants by eliciting change talk by using MI strategies in their education sessions.
The Acronym OARS can be utilized in the following ways.
O – Open-ended questions help establish a comfortable environment while exploring and understanding your participant's world.
Example: “What makes working on your eating regimen important to you?”
A – Affirmations help build a rapport and affirm the participant's decisions and values.
Example: “You are doing a great job building in physical activity. I know this has been a challenge for you, but what great strides you’ve made!”
R – Reflection helps the participant understand you are listening to him or her as well as allows for self-reflection on thoughts and feelings in the discussion.
Example: “What I hear you saying is you really enjoy having ice cream with your grandchildren because it’s a treat you enjoy together and that is important to you.”
S – Summarizing helps keep you and the participant on the same page about what you’ve discussed or what the next steps may be in their care plan.
Example: “From our discussion today, we’ve highlighted staying on track with your eating regimen is important to you and you plan to limit ice cream to a baby cup when you do have a treat with your grandchildren. You also plan to continue your exercise at least 3 days a week because you enjoy it. Let’s schedule a follow up as usual and see how you’ve been doing with those focus points next time.”
For more tips and strategies on motivational interviewing, AADE does offer a session on brushing up on your skills in motivational interview: What Skills Do I Use? A Sense Making Approach to Motivational Interviewing
Samantha Cortese, RDN, LDN, DCES