We have updated our Medication Pocketcards!

Our four-sided medication accordion Pocketcards were designed by Coach Beverly Thomassian to assist in clinical practice and exam preparation. One of our best sellers, the Diabetes Medication PocketCard is perfect for all Diabetes Care and Education Specialists.

New June 2020 Updates:

• Added Trijardy (new triple combo oral medication)
• Deleted Insulin combo Ryzodeg (not available in the U.S.)
• Deleted oral combo med Avandamet (no longer available)
• Deleted warning for Dapagliflozin since no longer on package insert (Do not use in pts with bladder cancer)

---

Included in the Pocketcards:

• Insulin Pocket Card
  • Front side: current insulins, including action times, dosing info
  • Backside: concentrated and Inhaled insulins 
• GLP-1 Receptor Agonists, Injectables / Insulin + GLP-1 Combo
  • Front side: GLP-1 Receptor Agonists and Injectables 
  • Backside: Injectable/Insulin Combinations 
• Oral Diabetes Medications – Complete listing of the 4 common oral medications including dosing range and considerations.
• Other Oral  and Combo Oral Medications   
  • Front Side: Less commonly used oral medications
  • Backside: Complete listing of all the combined oral medications including doses available
    

---

Upcoming Live Streaming Webinar
Next Webinar Airs June 25, 2020, from 11:30 am to 1:00 (PST)

Our Level 2 Standards of Care Intensive Series is designed to engage students in deciphering and exploring the ADA Standards of Care from top to bottom. This straight forward program will provide you with information you can use in your clinical setting and also provides critical content for the diabetes educator exam.

Mastery of this content is critical to ensure certification exam success and to improve clinical outcomes.

---

Sign up for Diabetes Blog Bytes – we post one daily Blog Byte from Monday to Friday. And of course, Tuesday is our Question of the Week. It’s Informative and FREE!  Sign up below!

Email Address Sign Me Up!

---

Accreditation: Diabetes Education Services is an approved provider by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider 12640, and Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), Provider DI002. Since these programs are approved by the CDR it satisfies the CE requirements for the CDCES regardless of your profession.*  

The use of DES products does not guarantee the successful passage of the CDCES exam. CBDCE does not endorse any preparatory or review materials for the CDCES exam, except for those published by CBDCE.

For this week’s Free Resource Friday, we want to share with you our new COVID-19 & Diabetes Resource Page!

Over the past weeks, we have been collecting resources to learn more about COVID-19 and how it affects people living with diabetes.

We have decided to gather all of these resources together into one page to share with you.

This page includes webinars, ADA & ADCES COVID-19 resource hubs, handouts, mental wellness resources, and much more!

---

Sign up for Diabetes Blog Bytes – we post one daily Blog Byte from Monday to Friday. And of course, Tuesday is our Question of the Week. It’s Informative and FREE!  Sign up below!

Email Address Sign Me Up!

PBS is streaming a new documentary, Blood Sugar Rising: America’s Hidden Diabetes Epidemic that follows the diabetes epidemic in the United States.

“It’s time to stop victim-shaming people with diabetes,” said Dan Hurley, scientific journalist, and author.

Through a scientific lens, Blood Sugar Rising, explores the history of diabetes and focuses on the environmental, social, and economical factors of this epidemic.

The documentary centers on the lived experience of people with diabetes, humanizing the impact that diabetes can have on an individual. Through these experiences, we see first-hand how much shame & blame is put on people living with diabetes.

Click here to watch the full video.

---

Diabetes 2020 – Virtual Conference!
Now with COVID-19 Update
7.5 CEs | $89

The COVID Pandemic is taking a toll on people with diabetes. What is the critical information Diabetes Care and Education Specialists need as we navigate this pandemic? How can take a leadership role in providing sound recommendations while helping to manage the full range of diabetes issues, including hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and cardiovascular risk reduction?

Coach Beverly has created this four-session virtual course so that participants can delve deep into the topics that are most pressing for diabetes care now and in the future. We will focus on improving population health and then drill down to individual intervention through case studies. We will discuss implementing cardiovascular risk screening and treatment in the clinical setting and more!

All Courses are Recorded and Ready for Viewing in our Online University!

Session 1 – Getting to the Heart of Care – 1.5 CEs 

• Our role as Diabetes Care and Education Specialists
• Diabetes and the COVID Pandemic
• ADA and 2020 Medication Management Algorithm –

Session 2 – Cardiovascular Risk Reduction Strategies – 1.5 CEs

• ADA and AACE Guidelines for CV Risk Reduction
• Implement Risk Reduction Strategies
• Addressing Hypertension, Lipids and Weight – A Case Study Approach

Session 3 – Lower Extremity Assessment and Intervention – 1.5 CEs 

• Peripheral Arterial Disease vs Vascular Disease
• Lower extremity assessment techniques
• Prevention strategies and education

Session 4 – Making meaningful Connections and a Vision for the Future – 1.5 CEs 

• Adverse Child Experiences – ACE and Impact of Diabetes and other Health Outcomes
• Improving health- From individuals to populations

All Courses are Recorded and Ready for Viewing in our Online University!

---

Sign up for Diabetes Blog Bytes – we post one daily Blog Byte from Monday to Friday. And of course, Tuesday is our Question of the Week. It’s Informative and FREE!  Sign up below!

Email Address Sign Me Up!

As many of our daily routines have greatly changed, it’s important we are mindful of our newly developing habits. For this week’s Free Resource Friday, we wanted to share Valeria Mallet’s handout on nutritional and self-care tips to follow during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Valeria Mallett, RD, CDCES is the owner of private practice in Portland, OR. Her practice specializes in diabetes prevention and management, as well as weight management. She believes in evidence-based science, sound reasoning, and creative ideas to help individuals reach their healthcare goals.

In the handout below, Valeria offers tips on how to establish healthier routines during this time.

“There is so much uncertainty on the world right now, and we all need guidance on how to stay well both mentally and physically” – Valeria explains.

That is why she suggests building an eating routine, skipping late-night snacks, and other great tips to follow during this pandemic.

Click here to download the handout.

Thank you, Valeria, we are so grateful that you shared this amazing handout with us!

To learn more, visit Valeria’s website.

---

Ready to advance your diabetes knowledge?
Join our new Virtual DiabetesEd Specialist Conference!
$459 | 30+ CEs

• Live Q & A Session with the instructor after each webinar
• Presentations by our team of experts
• Handouts and Resources for each session
• Post-test questions
• A sense of community
• If you can’t attend the live webinars, a recorded version will be posted later the same day for viewing
• Click here for more info on our Virtual Diabetes Ed Specialist Program

---

Sign up for Diabetes Blog Bytes – we post one daily Blog Byte from Monday to Friday. And of course, Tuesday is our Question of the Week. It’s Informative and FREE!  Sign up below!

Email Address Sign Me Up!

Join us on April 2nd from 11:30 am – 12:45 pm

Get ready to succeed a the CDCES exam. This course will transform your test anxiety into calm self-confidence and test taking readiness.

We will review sample test questions and the reasoning behind choosing the right answers.

Topics covered include the changes in requirements for 2020, exam eligibility and test format, strategies to succeed, and a review of study tips and test-taking tactics.

---

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Intended Audience: This FREE webinar is designed for individuals or groups of diabetes educators, including RNs, RDs, Pharmacists, Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Physician Assistants and other health care providers interested in achieving excellence in diabetes care and becoming Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialists®.

---

Certification Exams & COVID-19

Many people in our community are wondering how the shelter-in-place due to COVID-19 impacts any previously scheduled certification exams, so we wanted to provide an update from PSI, the testing centers for the Certification Board for Diabetes Care and Education (CBDCE).

The PSI centers for testing closed on March 19 and will be closed till at least April 13th, but will reassess this timeline, as necessary.

PSI states, “Effective immediately, candidates can reschedule up to and including the day of testing at no penalty and no documentation required.”

Due to this closure, all rescheduling rules and no show policies will be relaxed until April 30th; you can reschedule your test till then at no cost.

To avoid long wait times, PSI encourages you to reschedule online through their website. Though you can also reschedule by calling: 833-333-4755 Call Centers are open: 4:30 a.m.-7:00 p.m. PDT M-F, 6:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m. PDT Sat-Sun

For more information on the PSI closures, click here. For site closures regarding the BC-ADM exam, click here.

---

Sign up for Diabetes Blog Bytes – we post one daily Blog Byte from Monday to Friday. And of course, Tuesday is our Question of the Week. It’s Informative and FREE!  Sign up below!

Email Address Sign Me Up!

As we enter this unprecedented phase of the pandemic, how do we as individuals and parents cope? Dr. Giuseppe (Bepi) Raviola serves as the director of the global mental health team at Partners In Health. To help us through this difficult and scary time, he has outlined mental health strategies to help us adapt and cope while we engage in social distancing and upheaval of our daily lives.

We highlight several practices that might help us gain steady emotional footing in this strange new scenario that we are suddenly together in. Coach Beverly has also incorporated a few of her own suggestions.

10 Practices

1. Social distancing doesn’t mean emotional distancing. Find ways to keep connected with your important people. Use technologies such as skyping, facetime and others to keep in touch. Write those thank you cards you have been meaning to send or write a letter to a special person in your life.
2. Create a schedule for your day and try to develop a routine if you are staying home. Make sure to include outdoor activities, time for mindfulness and connecting with others.
3. Carve out time for physical activity. Try to stretch daily and breathe deeply. There are lots of dance instruction and yoga classes online for free. Maybe you want to try a new type of exercise that you can find online. Take a walk outside while talking to friends on the phone. National Parks are not charging admission fees to encourage people to enjoy nature.
4. Try to limit internet time reading about COVID-19. Instead, consider this is a time for learning and intellectual engagement. Start learning that new language, read a book on a topic you are not familiar with, take online courses for continuing education. Dust off your guitar or piano or other instruments and take online lessons.
5. Positive family time can help counter feelings of fear. Play games together, sing karaoke, work on outside projects, cook meals, or just hang out in a shared space.
6. Remember to do the things that you really enjoy doing, that you can do in this situation.
7. Reach out to neighbors that need help getting food and basic necessities. Look for ways to volunteer in your community.
8. Take time for focused meditation and relaxation. We have a wonderful and free Mindfulness Practice for Health Care Professionals that you may want to explore.
9. Limit exposure to TV and internet news. Choose small windows and then find ways to cleanse yourself of it.
10. Bathe daily, if possible, to reinforce feelings of cleanliness. Take a bath in mineral salts, light candles, listen to soothing music.

Read more here.

Remember that we will get through this. We are resilient, smart and resourceful.

With love, Coach Beverly.

---

Sign up for Diabetes Blog Bytes – we post one daily Blog Byte from Monday to Friday. And of course, Tuesday is our Question of the Week. It’s Informative and FREE!  Sign up below!

Email Address Sign Me Up!

March is the National Nutrition Month!

To kick things off, Coach Beverly has collected an entire page of plant-based eating resources. This page includes recipes, instructional videos, reading materials, and more!

We hope this list informs and inspires you!

Click here to read more.

---

Sign up for Diabetes Blog Bytes – we post one daily Blog Byte from Monday to Friday. And of course, Tuesday is our Question of the Week. It’s Informative and FREE!  Sign up below!

Email Address Sign Me Up!

A new study, published by JAMA Network Open, found that people living with diabetes can benefit from using self-management apps on their computers and mobile devices.

These tools offer a platform for individuals to have more control over their care by increasing communication with their healthcare team, monitoring lab results and medication refills.

They found that by giving people living with diabetes access to a mobile and computer-based self-management tools, their medication adherence and glycemic control improved.

The study evaluated 111,463 individuals who already had an oral diabetes prescription at baseline with no insulin use from April 2015 to December 2017. Researchers evaluated medical adherence to oral medications by monitoring the “percentage of days covered” (PDC) and by measuring glycemic levels.

For computer-only access results were:

• PDC increase of 1.16 (95% CI, 0.63 to 1.70) percentage points
• HbA_1c level change of -0.06 (95% CI, -0.08 to -0.03) percentage points

The study also tested the results for combining both computer-based and mobile access. They found that combining the two, they were able to see further improvements.

For computer and mobile access the results were:

• PDC increase of 1.67 (95% CI, 1.10 to 2.23) percentage points
• HbA_1c level change of -0.13 (95% CI, -0.16 to -0.10) percentage points

As the JAMA Network Open suggests, “these functions are particularly useful for improving the quality of care for patients with chronic conditions, such as diabetes, that require ongoing self-management.”

These results indicate that by offering web-based self-management tools to individuals, medication adherence and glycemic control can improve over time.

You can read more about this study here.

---

For a list of Highly Rated Apps for Diabetes, click here.

---

Sign up for Diabetes Blog Bytes – we post one daily Blog Byte from Monday to Friday. And of course, Tuesday is our Question of the Week. It’s Informative and FREE!  Sign up below!

Email Address Sign Me Up!