After asking several certified diabetes
educators (CDEs) whether they have training for sleep apnea, I have
to ask why they are so secretive about their training. Even my CDE
relative would only answer that her practice has sent them to some
training. Of five others I asked this question of, only one would
say that she has some training because the practice she worked for
sent her to a couple of classes.
Why are CDEs so secretive about their
training? It would seem to be something they should be proud to
discuss for people to understand why they display the acronym behind
their names; and limit the profession by making it difficult for
people to gain access to the title. Registered nurses, physician
assistants, doctors, and pharmacists are not that secretive and will
generally answer questions about their continuing education and even
their education.
This begs another question, is the
training so poor that they do not want to acknowledge what they do
know and that they take classes and webinars solely to be able to
check the boxes for recertification? Are they getting anything from
these classes or webinars that is useful? I have tried on more than
one occasion to ask questions of CDEs, but I seldom get a straight
answer. Is this part of their training not to answer questions about
their training? Or, is it that they are ashamed of their continuing
education.
Those that are willing to talk divert
the questions to their core training. Nurses will talk about their
education; pharmacists will talk about their education; but try to
get information about the CDE training is like talking to the
proverbial brick wall. Even my relative will not answer certain
questions although she will for some after she is sure I will not use
her response in a blog. I asked her if I am asking the wrong
questions, and she did say I was asking the right questions and that
I was being polite in the way I asked most questions.
She did comment that sometimes my
writing was a little blunt, but occasionally she could understand the
reason behind it and the need for showing my frustration. I did tell
her to read this blog, as I am very frustrated that the current AADE
head is apparently alone in her ivory tower and those that answer to
her are painting a picture that is not representative of what is
going on in the trenches.
It is difficult to make changes when
you are not given the truth or a true picture of what is happening at
the lower levels. The blog I wrote back on October 6, 2011 is still
as applicable today, if not more important. In the last paragraph, I
made mention of a few thousand CDEs that needed our support, but in
what has happened recently, maybe I should change that to a few
hundreds.
Now do not misunderstand, I do not see
the need for CDEs to be experts in sleep medicine. They should learn
to ask the right questions about sleep and recognize the symptoms of
sleep apnea. Then they should recommend to the doctor that he/she
investigate further and possibly refer the patient to a sleep
specialist. Because many of the people with type 2 diabetes (above
40 percent for combined men and women) have sleep apnea, this should
be necessary in CDE training.
Since I am not able to say with any
certainty that they have training about sleep apnea or are required
to have training, this is the reason for wording the title the way I
did.
Now that I have had my say, I will turn
this around and say I was pleasantly surprised when I sent an email
to the AACE education division. I received a prompt reply with a lot
of information to research and get my head around. I was supplied
with information about a sleep apnea resource for CDEs. Since I do
not have a copy of the book, I will copy the description from the
AADE site.
“Many resources address major
complications of diabetes, such as heart disease, stroke, blindness,
and kidney disease. Managing Diabetes: Complications and
Comorbidities focuses on the number of conditions and
comorbidities that affect an individual's activities of daily living.
Help your patients learn to recognize the early signs of changes that
can lead to these conditions so together you can work to prevent or
delay their onset.”
“Learn and Earn
Free continuing education (CE) for
nurses, dietitians, and pharmacists included with book purchase. When
you purchase the book, the post-test will be uploaded to your online
learning portal. You have two opportunities to pass the post-test and
receive 4.5 CEs. One post-test is allowed per book purchase.”
“Your Price: $ 24.95, Member
Price: $ 19.95” This was published in January 2012 by the
AADE, therefore do not look for this in your bookstore or favorite
online bookseller.
I will take the word from the person
corresponding with me that the topic of sleep apnea is included since
the topic is not included in the description. The site has been totally revamped and
the URL that I had is not longer valid. I am just happy I have as
much information as I did get.
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