Earlier this month, I asked members to discuss their decision making and rationale in how they select the various venues for contact hours. This weekend, I stepped outside my usual safety net for continuing education, and traveled to Atlanta for the Cardiometabolic Health Congress (CMHC) Regional Conference Series. The reason for doing so was due to a wake-up call.
Around two months ago, I had a patient sitting across the table from me who had recently experienced a double whammy of both an acute MI and the diagnoses of diabetes. Citing his priority of addressing his heart health first and all the resulting cardiology appointments, tests, rehab, and changes in medications, he apologized for not getting to his diabetes sooner, but hoped I understood. Of course I did, and had I been in his shoes, would likely have done the same. Then he asked me a question that I could not answer: “Do you think there may be a conflict between the new cardiac medication protocol my heart doc has me own and my diabetes?”
It was immediately apparent to me that I lacked the knowledge to support this patient in his concerns. I had become too complacent and perhaps rigid in my focus of diabetes education, and had allowed a very important component of diabetes heart health to move on without me. Less than a week later, the information for the aforementioned series came across my desk, with several of the topics addressing cardiac medication treatment standards. So Providence had provided the opportunity, and it was now up to me to find the means of getting there.
The event offered 6.5 contact hours for $95, in keeping with the going rate of $12- $15 per hour for quality “live” presentations. To make this event work budget-wise, another of my more traditional venues for obtaining CEUs would have to go. And if my cousin were willing to have me stay for the weekend, I had only the additional cost of gas.
So plans proceeded, and I will readily say it was a most successful learning event, mostly because it taught me that I have much to re-learn and disseminate.
The take-away from all this? I had also gotten complacent in meeting my annual contact hours, with cost and expediency serving as the guide for my selections, and not critically examining my areas of educator weakness. I move forward now with the determination of maintaining a broader knowledge base of life with diabetes so that I can support my patients in their decision-making.