The Vital Role of Diabetes Specialist Nurses

According to a UK study of Diabetes, specialist nurses are now leading the way in educating and overseeing diabetic patients with more than half now prescribing medications. During the annual conference of Diabetes at Glasgow UK last week, Charlotte Gosden, the lead researcher and information analyst at Diabetes UK, talked about the changes in NHS policies attached with an increase in the number of cases of diabetes had influenced the role played by diabetes nurses. According to Ms. Godsen, questionnaires are being sent to across the UK between February and December 2007.

Their main objective is to examine the changes to all 361 diabetes services both in primary and secondary care.  Nurses are essential to the care of people with diabetes, and they are taking on more complex clinical care. With this, responses are being received from 44 percent diabetes services. The results proved that the major role of a nurse is to provide education to his patient. This includes 85 percent educational programmes such as delivering topics such as carbohydrate counting and dose adjustment; these are needed to meet the NICE criteria. Generally, the survey had established 95 percent of diabetic services wherein nurses handled patient supervision. While 79 percent of diabetes specialist nurses arrange education sessions, 77 percent of them can conduct the conference. But according to a research, only 13 percent of nurses planned and delivered education conference in 2000.

Based from the survey, at this time, 56 percent of nurses who handle community diabetes cases and 66 percent of nurse consultants can advise medicine to their patients. According to a nurse consultant and co-author of the study, Diabetes specialist nurses are frequently seen as the key player of the healthcare team by people with diabetes and their role has developed noticeably. Ms. Gosden added that in order to develop the skills of specialist nurses, it is important to give them study time and funding for research. [via]