The Diabetes Nurse Practitioner

Your-Diabetes-Care-Team-Dans-Wellness-Newsletter-November-2015If you or a family member are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, you will be introduced to a number of different medical professionals in addition to your primary-care physician.  A nurse educator or diabetes nurse practitioner is a registered nurse (RN) with special training and a background in caring for and teaching people with diabetes.  Many are Certified Diabetes Educators (CDEs) and some may have a master’s degree.  Nurse educators and diabetes nurse practitioners often help patients learn the day-to-day aspects of diabetes self-care.  They can teach you:

  • What diabetes is
  • How to cope with diabetes and to make changes in your health habits
  • How to use diabetes medications
  • How to work with insulin and give yourself shots
  • How to check your blood sugar
  • How to keep track of your diabetes
  • Symptoms of low and high blood glucose
  • How to take care of an insulin reaction
  • How to handle sick days
  • How to stay healthy if you are pregnant

–Source:  American Diabetes Association