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CJ is living with type 1 diabetes and calls the diabetes-education clinic, recently learning she is 7-weeks gestation. CJ uses a hybrid closed-loop (automated insulin delivery or AID) insulin pump system with continuous glucose monitoring that is set to a target to 110 mg/dl. The Ambulatory Glucose Profile report was reviewed for the past 2 weeks and findings show increasing postprandial hyperglycemia, with average post-meal readings of 170–220 mg/dL. Time in Range (TIR) is 72% (70-180 mg/dl) with 1% of Time below Range. The total daily insulin dose has increased approximately 10% over the same period. And CJ reports no significant changes to diet, activity, or carbohydrate intake. CJ asks if any modifications are need to the diabetes therapy plan?
What can we tell CJ?
Want to Learn More about this Question?
🌟Updated Schedule: ADA Boot Camp, Tech, MNT & More
Live in Beautiful San Diego – Oct 22-23, 2026
Re-Ignite your Passion & Prepare for Diabetes Certification Exams
🎓 Earn 30+ CEs: AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™, ACPE, ANCC, and CDR!
📅
2-Day Conference
Oct 22–23, 2026
⏱️
15.5 Live CEs
+ 17 bonus CEs
🏅
CDCES & BC-ADM
Exam Prep + Renewal
📍
San Diego, CA
1.7 mi from airport
The field of diabetes care is expanding and evolving rapidly. This unique training conference will keep you on the cutting edge plus prepare you for certification exams. It also fulfills the Standards of Care renewal requirement. Join us for two days of intensive education that is fun and inspiring. Add on the optional Day 3 (Engaging the Disengaged), to complete your conference exeperience.
Coach Beverly and Diana Isaacs, PharmD, BC-ADM, CDCES co-lead an exciting day that brings the ADA and AACE Standards to life. Gain fresh insights, practical tools, and a deeper understanding of the latest in person-centered diabetes care. After attending, you will be empowered to share the latest in diabetes care with your colleagues and the people in your care.
Take your knowledge to the next level with this intensive deep-dive into insulin therapy, dosing and pattern management with Dr. Diana Isaacs. Next, stay for the diabetes tech show-and-tell as Diana demonstrates the specs of the latest pumps and sensors. After lunch, nutrition whiz Christine Craig, MS, RDN, CDCES expertly details the latest in MNT and provides real strategies on translating this content to your clinical practice. You will have a chance to put it all together as Coach Beverly leads you through a series of case studies that integrates content from Day 1 and Day 2.
On Saturday, join this exceptional day-long program led by William H. Polonsky, PhD, CDCES & Susan Guzman, PhD (Behavioral Diabetes Institute) that reveals psychosocial forces behind diabetes self-management — tools to break through resistance and inspire change.
Read more below
📜 Essentials
Registration
+ Printed Syllabus
$559.00
🌟 Deluxe
Essentials
+ ADA Standards Book
$589.00
🏆 Complete – Best Value!
Deluxe
+ ADCES Review Guide e-Book
$669.00
Transform how you engage patients with diabetes — master behavior change, reduce distress, and overcome medication hesitancy.
Why do so many patients know what they should do — but still struggle to do it?
The answer lies in the psychology of diabetes.
In this transformative full-day course, world-renowned experts William H. Polonsky, PhD, CDCES, and Susan Guzman, PhD, from the Behavioral Diabetes Institute reveal the hidden psychosocial forces that drive — or derail — diabetes self-management.
You’ll walk away with a completely new toolkit for breaking through patient resistance, dissolving medication hesitancy, and creating clinical encounters that actually inspire change!
For last week’s practice question, we quizzed participants on how glycemic control can be documented. 37% of respondents chose the best answer. We want to clarify and share this important information, so you can pass it on to people living with diabetes and your colleagues, plus prepare for exam success!
Before we start though, if you don’t want any spoilers and haven’t tried the question yet, you can answer it by clicking here.
A 62‑year‑old woman with type 2 diabetes is being followed in a value‑based care program. She uses a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) that provides detailed glucose data, which she electronically shares with her care team.
At her follow‑up visit, her provider notes that her most recent laboratory A1c is unavailable due to a missed lab draw. However, her CGM report shows a Glucose Management Indicator (GMI) of 7.2%. The care team wants to ensure her glycemic status is captured for quality reporting under updated HEDIS® measures.
Which statement best reflects how her glycemic control can be documented?
If you are thinking about taking the certification exam, this practice test question will set you up for success. Test writers anticipate possible answers based on the details in the question. They will wave those “juicy answers” right under your nose. Your job is to weed through the particulars, pluck out the most important elements and choose the BEST answer.
Answer A is correct. 37.12% chose this answer: “GMI from CGM data can be used in place of hemoglobin A1c for quality reporting.” Great job! This is the correct answer. The updated HEDIS® Glycemic Status Assessment for Patients With Diabetes measure accepts either a laboratory A1c or a GMI calculated from CGM data. Therefore, her GMI of 7.2% can be documented for quality reporting and meets the measure’s glycemic-status threshold of less than 8.0%.
Answer B is incorrect. 24.49% of you chose this answer, “GMI is useful for patient education but cannot be used for official quality measures.” GMI supports patient education and clinical decision-making while also serving as an accepted glycemic-status result under the updated HEDIS® measure.
Answer C is incorrect. 21.72% of respondents chose this: “GMI should only be used if time‑in‑range data are also reported.” Time in Range provides valuable information about glucose patterns, but a GMI result can independently document glycemic status for HEDIS® quality reporting.
Finally, Answer D is incorrect. 16.67% chose this answer, “GMI is not recognized by HEDIS® and must be converted to estimated A1c.” The updated HEDIS® measure directly recognizes GMI as a glycemic-status result. GMI is the current term derived from CGM data and requires no conversion to “estimated A1c.”
We hope you appreciate this week’s rationale! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our Test You Knowledge Tuesday and participate in this fun learning activity!
Want to Learn More about this Question?
Did you know that YOU are practicing in a healthcare system where the traditional fee for service model is giving way to value-based diabetes care, and how essential YOU are in that shift?
As a diabetes professional, you will want to keep up to date on this upheaval of traditional models of care. You have the opportunity to take a leadership role and demonstrate your worth.
Healthcare is changing, and it is changing quickly. Terms like digital quality measures (dQMs), HEDIS®, STAR Ratings, interoperability, value-based contracting, artificial intelligence, and digital health technology are appearing more frequently in healthcare conversations.
Jordan is a 52-year-old person living with type 2 diabetes whose provider recently added a second daily medication after their A1C rose from 7.6% to 9.1%. Jordan works alternating shifts and cares for an aging parent. At a follow-up visit, Jordan reports consistently taking their morning dose but missing the evening dose “more nights than not.”
Jordan says, “My schedule’s never the same two days in a row. By the time I remember, I’ve already gone to bed.”
Which response by the diabetes care and education specialist best supports sustainable medication-taking?
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People living with diabetes are often well informed about actions needed to shift into a “healthy lifestyle”, yet often struggle to sustain health behaviors over time. This webinar introduces a positive psychology lens for diabetes care, showing how clinicians can help individuals with diabetes build lifestyles that feel psychologically nourishing, not just medically correct. Rather than focusing solely on risk and problem-solving, we’ll explore how to weave well-being, motivation, and strengths into everyday diabetes education and support.
Drawing on the PERMA framework—Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment—participants will learn practical strategies to enhance motivation, resilience, and self-management. We’ll examine how PERMA aligns with key behavior-change principles such as autonomy, connection, and confidence-building, and translate these ideas into simple questions, reframes, and counseling approaches that can be used immediately in healthcare professionals’ practice.
I had such a wonderful experience at the ADCES Conference in Columbus, Ohio! One of the greatest highlights was receiving dozens of hugs from colleagues who shared their joy of achieving diabetes certification after attending our courses. Hearing their stories and celebrating their successes made this event extra special. I felt incredibly appreciated, energized, and connected to our amazing diabetes community.
I also had the honor of presenting as a panelist alongside three inspiring diabetes leaders and entrepreneurs. I asked the panelists from this standing-room-only session to share lessons learned from their entrepreneurial journeys, including what they wish they had known when they first got started. I encourage you to read this article for inspiration and getting-started ideas.
Continued below…
Next, the FDA announced approval of a new continuous ketone-glucose sensor. The Libre Duo 10 Day Continuous Dual Glucose-Ketone Monitoring System is approved for people aged 2 years and older living with diabetes.Gastroparesis is often undetected and undertreated. Gain new insights into this complex condition and explore the latest treatment strategies with nutrition expert Christine Craig, MS, RD, CDCES.
As diabetes healthcare professionals, we know that daily self-management doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Have you ever considered helping people with diabetes flourish? Join positive psychology expert Evgeniya Evans for a refreshing reframing of diabetes self-management.
Celebrate our newest CDCES and BC-ADM success stories and discover what’s coming next! Join Coach Beverly for learning and connection in Hawaii this September or San Diego this October, or take advantage of one of her upcoming FREE webinars from the comfort of home. We’d love to have you join us!
Lastly, I would like to leave you with a quote from an inspirational woman whose larger-than-life persona was balanced by her deep groundedness and extraordinary artistic and philanthropic vision.
“Find out who you are and do it on purpose. And do it with purpose.” – Dolly Parton
With hearts full of gratitude,
Coach Beverly, Bryanna, Ashlie, and Katarina
People living with diabetes are often well informed about actions needed to shift into a “healthy lifestyle”, yet often struggle to sustain health behaviors over time. This webinar introduces a positive psychology lens for diabetes care, showing how clinicians can help individuals with diabetes build lifestyles that feel psychologically nourishing, not just medically correct. Rather than focusing solely on risk and problem-solving, we’ll explore how to weave well-being, motivation, and strengths into everyday diabetes education and support.
This 30‑minute exclusive session, by expert Marie Frazzitta, DNP, FNP‑C, PMHNP, CDCES, MBA, will provide a high‑level overview of how digital quality measures, CGM data, and value‑based care are transforming diabetes care delivery and reporting. You’ll learn how these shifts create new opportunities for diabetes health professionals to lead, demonstrate value, and shape the future of technology‑enabled diabetes care.
Lead the Transformation Webinar Topics
🌟Updated Schedule: ADA Boot Camp, Tech, MNT & More
Live in Beautiful San Diego – Oct 22-23, 2026
Re-Ignite your Passion & Prepare for Diabetes Certification Exams
🎓 Earn 30+ CEs: AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™, ACPE, ANCC, and CDR!
📅
2-Day Conference
Oct 22–23, 2026
⏱️
15.5 Live CEs
+ 17 bonus CEs
🏅
CDCES & BC-ADM
Exam Prep + Renewal
📍
San Diego, CA
1.7 mi from airport
The field of diabetes care is expanding and evolving rapidly. This unique training conference will keep you on the cutting edge plus prepare you for certification exams. It also fulfills the Standards of Care renewal requirement. Join us for two days of intensive education that is fun and inspiring. Add on the optional Day 3 (Engaging the Disengaged), to complete your conference exeperience.
Coach Beverly and Diana Isaacs, PharmD, BC-ADM, CDCES co-lead an exciting day that brings the ADA and AACE Standards to life. Gain fresh insights, practical tools, and a deeper understanding of the latest in person-centered diabetes care. After attending, you will be empowered to share the latest in diabetes care with your colleagues and the people in your care.
Take your knowledge to the next level with this intensive deep-dive into insulin therapy, dosing and pattern management with Dr. Diana Isaacs. Next, stay for the diabetes tech show-and-tell as Diana demonstrates the specs of the latest pumps and sensors. After lunch, nutrition whiz Christine Craig, MS, RDN, CDCES expertly details the latest in MNT and provides real strategies on translating this content to your clinical practice. You will have a chance to put it all together as Coach Beverly leads you through a series of case studies that integrates content from Day 1 and Day 2.
On Saturday, join this exceptional day-long program led by William H. Polonsky, PhD, CDCES & Susan Guzman, PhD (Behavioral Diabetes Institute) that reveals psychosocial forces behind diabetes self-management — tools to break through resistance and inspire change.
Read more below
📜 Essentials
Registration
+ Printed Syllabus
$559.00
🌟 Deluxe
Essentials
+ ADA Standards Book
$589.00
🏆 Complete – Best Value!
Deluxe
+ ADCES Review Guide e-Book
$669.00
Transform how you engage patients with diabetes — master behavior change, reduce distress, and overcome medication hesitancy.
Why do so many patients know what they should do — but still struggle to do it?
The answer lies in the psychology of diabetes.
In this transformative full-day course, world-renowned experts William H. Polonsky, PhD, CDCES, and Susan Guzman, PhD, from the Behavioral Diabetes Institute reveal the hidden psychosocial forces that drive — or derail — diabetes self-management.
You’ll walk away with a completely new toolkit for breaking through patient resistance, dissolving medication hesitancy, and creating clinical encounters that actually inspire change!
For last week’s practice question, we quizzed participants on which response BEST reflects PERMA framework. 77% of respondents chose the best answer. We want to clarify and share this important information, so you can pass it on to people living with diabetes and your colleagues, plus prepare for exam success!
Before we start though, if you don’t want any spoilers and haven’t tried the question yet, you can answer it by clicking here.
You are working with SL, who understands the benefits of physical activity but has struggled to maintain a regular routine. SL says, “I know I should exercise, but every plan I try eventually feels like another diabetes chore.”
Which response BEST reflects a positive psychology (PERMA) approach to supporting sustainable behavior change?
If you are thinking about taking the certification exam, this practice test question will set you up for success. Test writers anticipate possible answers based on the details in the question. They will wave those “juicy answers” right under your nose. Your job is to weed through the particulars, pluck out the most important elements and choose the BEST answer.
Answer A is incorrect. 2.11% chose this answer: “Let’s set a goal of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity each week and track your progress.” Establishes an evidence-based activity goal, but a prescribed target does not address SL’s concern that exercise feels like another obligation. pattern identified above was post-prandial hyperglycemia, making a recommendation for basal increase without additional information inappropriate.
Answer B is correct. 77.11% of you chose this answer, “What types of movement have you enjoyed in the past, and who might you enjoy doing them with?” Great job! This is the correct answer. Positive psychology expands the conversation beyond what a person should do and explores what can make a healthy behavior rewarding and sustainable. Asking about enjoyable activities and social connection incorporates several elements of the Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment (PERMA) framework—particularly Positive Emotion, Engagement, and Relationships. The approach also supports autonomy by inviting SL to identify an activity that fits their life.
Answer C is incorrect. 0.35% of respondents chose this: “Regular activity can lower your glucose and reduce your risk of cardiovascular complications.” Provides important health information, but SL already understands why physical activity matters. More education about risk and benefits may not increase motivation.
Finally, Answer D is incorrect. 20.42% chose this answer, “Let’s identify the barriers that have prevented you from following your previous activity plans.” Uses a useful problem-solving approach and could be appropriate, but it remains focused primarily on what is getting in the way. A positive psychology approach also asks what could make the behavior enjoyable, meaningful, and worth continuing.
We hope you appreciate this week’s rationale! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our Test You Knowledge Tuesday and participate in this fun learning activity!
Want to Learn More about this Question?
People living with diabetes are often well informed about actions needed to shift into a “healthy lifestyle”, yet often struggle to sustain health behaviors over time. This webinar introduces a positive psychology lens for diabetes care, showing how clinicians can help individuals with diabetes build lifestyles that feel psychologically nourishing, not just medically correct. Rather than focusing solely on risk and problem-solving, we’ll explore how to weave well-being, motivation, and strengths into everyday diabetes education and support.
Drawing on the PERMA framework—Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment—participants will learn practical strategies to enhance motivation, resilience, and self-management. We’ll examine how PERMA aligns with key behavior-change principles such as autonomy, connection, and confidence-building, and translate these ideas into simple questions, reframes, and counseling approaches that can be used immediately in healthcare professionals’ practice.
Author: Evgeniya Evans, MAPP, RDN, LDN, CDCES
Diabetes care often asks people to add more to their busy daily schedules: more decisions, more data, more appointments, more routines. But what if sustainable health habits aren’t primarily a test of willpower? What if we look at them as a design challenge?
As diabetes healthcare professionals, we know that daily self-management doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It unfolds alongside work, caregiving, financial pressure, food access, cultural food traditions, fatigue, stress, transportation, neighborhood safety, and uneven access to care. Evidence-based recommendations matter, but they’re hard to sustain when they feel prescriptive, externally imposed, or disconnected from a person’s actual priorities. A plan that’s perfect on paper is worth little if it isn’t intrinsically motivating for the person living it.
Positive psychology and Self-Determination Theory (SDT) offer diabetes professionals a practical reframe: instead of asking people to fit more health tasks into their lives, we can help them redesign health-supportive routines to fit and even strengthen the lives they already want to live.
The goal isn’t to make people comply with a plan. It’s to help them design health-supportive routines that are chosen, possible, connected, and worth repeating.
A person can fully understand the clinical rationale for nutrition therapy, movement, medication-taking, glucose monitoring, or stress management and still struggle to fit it into daily life. That’s not necessarily a knowledge gap or a personal failure.
When we frame the challenge as “motivation,” we risk overlooking the real-world conditions shaping what’s actually feasible. Someone may want to cook at home but face high food costs, an unpredictable schedule, caregiving demands, or limited kitchen equipment. Person-centered care means exploring these realities with curiosity, not judgment, and it’s consistent with the ADA Standards of Care in Diabetes, which dedicate an entire section to facilitating positive health behaviors and wellbeing as part of evidence-based, person-centered treatment.
SDT helps explain why some health behaviors become personally owned while others stay burdensome obligations. Per foundational SDT research by Ryan and Deci (2000), sustainable, self-directed motivation depends on three psychological needs:
In practice, the clinician’s role becomes more than delivering the “right” recommendation; it’s co-creating an approach the person can actually carry forward. Instead of asking, “Why aren’t you following the plan?” we might ask, “What would make this feel more workable in your life right now?”
This isn’t passive care. It’s an active, collaborative use of clinical expertise to offer meaningful choices, highlight what’s working, build skills, anticipate barriers, and strengthen support. A 2023 scoping review found SDT-informed approaches show promise for improving diabetes self-management, treatment adherence, and quality of life, but the evidence base is growing and still uneven.
Positive psychology adds another useful question: can a health behavior contribute to wellbeing, rather than simply compete with it?
Positive psychology founder Martin Seligman defined wellbeing not as a fleeting feeling but as a measurable combination of positive feeling and a life filled with meaning and purpose (Seligman, 2011). His PERMA model names five building blocks of flourishing: positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment. These aren’t rewards people earn after “perfect” diabetes self-management; they can be built directly into everyday routines so those routines become more appealing and repeatable.
Movement, for instance, is clinically beneficial regardless, but the experience changes when the person chooses the time and place, walks with a loved one, or pairs it with music they enjoy. Even medication-taking shifts when it’s anchored to a meaningful daily ritual, like morning coffee with a partner, rather than treated as an isolated task.
The goal isn’t to layer all five PERMA elements onto every recommendation. It’s to identify the one or two that turn a health behavior from another “should” into something that supports the life the person wants.
Consider someone advised to walk after dinner. They understand the glucose benefits, but they’re exhausted after work, caring for a family member, and don’t feel safe walking alone after dark. Repeating the recommendation more firmly won’t change the routine; it’ll just add friction.
A life-design conversation starts differently: “What part of your evening already gives you even a small sense of enjoyment, connection, or calm?”
Maybe they mention a nightly call with a sibling. From there, clinician and patient can explore a short indoor walk during that call, a safe mall walk on certain days, or light movement during a favorite show. The person chooses the option. The plan reflects their real constraints and resources. Connection and enjoyment are built in. Each completed step becomes evidence of their own capability.
The clinical recommendation stays evidence-informed, but the routine becomes autonomous, feasible, connected, and life-enhancing.
Positive psychology doesn’t replace diabetes education, medical nutrition therapy, or medication management; it’s a complementary lens for designing behavior-change conversations. A 2022 systematic review found positive psychological interventions may support behaviors like physical activity, diet, and medication adherence, though this remains an emerging, evidence-informed area rather than a settled one.
When health habits support autonomy, competence, relatedness, enjoyment, meaning, and progress, they stop being tasks on a treatment plan, and start becoming part of a life someone actually wants to live.
At your next visit, pick one health recommendation and ask: “How could we make this feel like it belongs in this person’s life?”
That single question can open a different kind of clinical conversation, one that surfaces values, strengths, constraints, sources of joy, and forms of support a standard treatment plan might otherwise miss.
Evgeniya Evans, MAPP, RDN, LDN, CDCES
Excited to dive deeper? Join Evgeniya Evans, MAPP, RDN, LDN, CDCES, on September 14, 2026, for From Compliance to Connection: Positive Psychology Strategies for Lasting Change in Diabetes Care, a live session exploring how to integrate SDT and PERMA into person-centered diabetes education, with practical strategies for helping people redesign health habits that are both clinically supportive and personally sustainable.
Course Topics:
On September 24, 2026, the FDA approved insulin efsitora (Onswik™) for adults with type 2 diabetes. For diabetes healthcare professionals, this adds another once-weekly option for matching treatment to a person’s needs, preferences, and daily routine.
Efsitora is Lilly’s once-weekly basal insulin approved for people living with type 2 diabetes. Weekly administration reduces the number of basal injections from approximately 365 to 52 per year. Like the other weekly insulin, icodec, it does not eliminate mealtime injections for people who need prandial insulin.
At the time of the approval announcement, Lilly anticipated U.S. availability in the coming months.
Efsitora is an insulin fusion protein incorporating an immunoglobulin Fc region. This molecular design prolongs its time in circulation; it does not use icodec’s albumin-binding mechanism. The two insulins have different pharmacology, dosing and storage properties and require their own education and prescribing instructions (see comparative table below).
Efsitora has a half-life of approximately 17 days across pharmacology studies, compared to icodec’s 7 day half-life. The four QWINT studies found relatively even glucose-lowering effect of efsitora across the weekly intervals at steady state. After the initial dose, clinical steady state was reached after approximately four to six weeks.
For the outpatient clinical practice, prolonged activity means we need to look at fasting glucose trends across weeks and plan adjustments slowly and carefully. During hospitalization or a procedure, medication reconciliation needs to capture the last weekly injection, the dose, and the pen concentration. This information can help the acute care team avoid unintended overlap when initiating subsequent insulin treatment.
As with all basal insulins, there is a comparable risk of hypoglycemia. When working with individuals starting this new insulin, using a CGM to monitor ongoing glucose levels will help with needed adjustments over time. Of course, having a back-up glucose monitor is also very important along with reinforcing the signs of hypoglycemia and action to take.
Check in with individuals to help them figure out a system to record their weekly injection day. Discuss recognition and treatment of low glucose, access to rescue treatment, and when to contact the diabetes team. Written or electronic calendar reminders can be especially helpful when someone uses more than one weekly injectable medicine.
According to the package insert, for insulin-naïve adults, fixed titration starts at 100 units weekly; flexible titration is based on current insulin dose, glucose goals and other factors. See Package Insert for Dosing Info.
Missed dose: give within four days, then keep the schedule. After four days, skip or administer and restart weekly dosing seven days later. Increase monitoring. Renal impairment calls for individualized monitoring and dosing, not automatic eGFR percentage reductions.
U-500 pens contain 1,500 units, deliver 5-unit increments, and allow a maximum of 400 units per injection. U-1,000 pens contain 3,000 units, deliver 10-unit increments, and allow 800 maximum units per injection.
Refrigerate at 36–46°F; cumulative room-temperature exposure up to 86°F must not exceed 14 days. Discard 16 weeks after first use. Do not freeze.
The four QWINT registration studies enrolled more than 3,400 adults with type 2 diabetes. Efsitora achieved noninferior A1C reductions compared with daily insulin glargine U-100 or degludec U-100 across these trials. Noninferiority supports comparable glucose-lowering efficacy within the trials’ prespecified margins; it does not establish that weekly insulin is always the best match. Having an honest discussion about the pros and cons of weekly insulin therapy is a part of keeping it person centered.
Choosing treatment together
Weekly basal insulin may appeal to people who find daily injections burdensome, including those hesitant to begin insulin. The discussion should also explore comfort with a weekly schedule, access to monitoring, caregiver support when needed, and coverage and cost. Reduced injection frequency may ease treatment burden, but real-world persistence and outcomes will need continued evaluation.
A useful opening question is, “What feels hardest about your current insulin routine?” The answer can guide whether weekly basal insulin addresses the person’s actual barrier. As diabetes healthcare professionals, our role is to combine current evidence with practical education and curiosity, helping each person choose a plan they can use safely and confidently.
Join us as we break down the latest in diabetes care, guidelines, and emerging therapies— you can bring confidence, clarity, and compassion to your clinical practice by joining our
🌟Updated Schedule: ADA Boot Camp, Tech, MNT & More
Live in Beautiful San Diego – Oct 22-23, 2026
🎓 Earn 30+ CEs: AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™, ACPE, ANCC, and CDR!
📅
2-Day Conference
Oct 22–23, 2026
⏱️
15.5 Live CEs
+ 17 bonus CEs
🏅
CDCES & BC-ADM
Exam Prep + Renewal
📍
San Diego, CA
1.7 mi from airport
The field of diabetes care is expanding and evolving rapidly. This unique training conference will keep you on the cutting edge plus prepare you for certification exams. It also fulfills the Standards of Care renewal requirement. Join us for two days of intensive education that is fun and inspiring. Add on the optional Day 3 (Engaging the Disengaged), to complete your conference exeperience.
Coach Beverly and Diana Isaacs, PharmD, BC-ADM, CDCES co-lead an exciting day that brings the ADA and AACE Standards to life. Gain fresh insights, practical tools, and a deeper understanding of the latest in person-centered diabetes care. After attending, you will be empowered to share the latest in diabetes care with your colleagues and the people in your care.
Take your knowledge to the next level with this intensive deep-dive into insulin therapy, dosing and pattern management with Dr. Diana Isaacs. Next, stay for the diabetes tech show-and-tell as Diana demonstrates the specs of the latest pumps and sensors. After lunch, nutrition whiz Christine Craig, MS, RDN, CDCES expertly details the latest in MNT and provides real strategies on translating this content to your clinical practice. You will have a chance to put it all together as Coach Beverly leads you through a series of case studies that integrates content from Day 1 and Day 2.
On Saturday, join this exceptional day-long program led by William H. Polonsky, PhD, CDCES & Susan Guzman, PhD (Behavioral Diabetes Institute) that reveals psychosocial forces behind diabetes self-management — tools to break through resistance and inspire change.
Read more below
📜 Essentials
Registration
+ Printed Syllabus
$559.00
🌟 Deluxe
Essentials
+ ADA Standards Book
$589.00
🏆 Complete – Best Value!
Deluxe
+ ADCES Review Guide e-Book
$669.00
Transform how you engage patients with diabetes — master behavior change, reduce distress, and overcome medication hesitancy.
Why do so many patients know what they should do — but still struggle to do it?
The answer lies in the psychology of diabetes.
In this transformative full-day course, world-renowned experts William H. Polonsky, PhD, CDCES, and Susan Guzman, PhD, from the Behavioral Diabetes Institute reveal the hidden psychosocial forces that drive — or derail — diabetes self-management.
You’ll walk away with a completely new toolkit for breaking through patient resistance, dissolving medication hesitancy, and creating clinical encounters that actually inspire change!
Author: Christine Craig, MS, RDN, CDCES
Founder: Nutrition for Daily Living
Physical activity can support diabetes management and cardiometabolic health, but fewer than one in four American adults achieve physical activity recommendations, and people with diabetes report consistently lower physical activity than people without diabetes.1 Simply educating on recommendations or setting a weekly activity target does not address individual factors that influence implementation.
A recent 2026 scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA)2 reintroduced the 5As (Assess, Advise, Agree, Assist, and Arrange) as a structured approach to support behavior change. This framework originated in the 1990s to target tobacco cessation and, over time, was adapted for chronic disease self-management.
It evolved from a more directive approach to emphasize shared decision-making and patient-centered goal setting. Today, this approach is used across lifestyle and chronic disease care, including nutrition, obesity, and physical activity counseling. Its goal is to move beyond education to shared decision-making, individualized goal setting, problem-solving, self-management, and ongoing support.2
Before prescribing more physical activity and exercise, first learn what activity looks like in the individual’s real life. What is the individual’s intention and knowledge about movement? Using open-ended questions, ask about current activity, sedentary time, daily routines, previous experiences with exercise and movement, physical limitations, and access to safe places to move. The goal is to understand both where the person is starting and what may influence their willingness and ability to change.5 Example prompts may include: “It sounds like you are open to being more active. Do you have an idea of how you might incorporate regular activity into your day?” or “Is there something that has worked for you in the past?”2 This approach may help identify readiness, preferences, and potential barriers.2 The ADA also recommends assessing baseline physical activity and sedentary time for people with diabetes and encouraging those who are not meeting activity recommendations to increase movement above their baseline.3
As diabetes care providers, we are skilled at understanding evidence-based guidelines while also focusing on the individual’s priorities and abilities. Ask permission to share information and connect information and recommendations to the person’s goals and assessed needs. An example prompt may include: “You want to exercise 3 days a week but feel like you are tight on time. Would you be interested in hearing how others have included some physical activity into their busy schedule?”2. Using this approach, can provide evidence-based guidance while respecting the individual’s priorities, readiness, and preferences.
Collaborate with the person to establish a realistic SMART goal (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound). The goal should reflect what the person is willing and able to do, rather than a specific guideline target.5 Collaborate on creating a smart goal and reflect interests: “Joining an exercise group in the community sounds like it interests you, do you know of a specific community group that you will join?” “Do you know how often they meet?”2. Starting below the recommended physical activity guidelines2,3,4 can be a meaningful step, particularly for someone who is currently inactive.4
Anticipation of barriers, problem-solving challenges, and identifying resources can make the plan more achievable. The AHA and ADA both recommend considering social context and using supportive, problem-solving approaches.5 For people with diabetes, also consider how physical activity may affect glucose levels, medication needs, and other health concerns.4 When additional barriers are identified, consider referral to an appropriate care provider, exercise professional, physical therapist, or community-based program.
Finally, establish a follow-up plan and continued support. Physical activity changes with health status, work, family responsibilities, access, and other life circumstances, so view the initial plan as a starting point. At follow-up, ask what worked, what was difficult, and what the person wants to change.5 Reinforce all progress and confidence in the plan, which includes the health behavior change and not just clinical outcomes. The AHA recommends incorporating follow-up visits, technology, team-based care models, and community resources, if appropriate, to promote sustained behavior change.5
Although the 5 A’s approach is not yet integrated into diabetes management standards of care, it reflects many of the same principles as current guidelines: assessing activity, setting individualized goals, addressing barriers, and providing follow-up.1,2,4,5
While the ADA provides guidelines for physical activity in individuals with diabetes, the 5As offers a framework for translating those recommendations into individualized action. By prioritizing shared decision-making, realistic goals, problem-solving, and ongoing support, the 5As can help diabetes care and education specialists support individuals in incorporating more movement into their daily lives.
Christine Craig, MS, RDN, CDCES
Founder: Nutrition for Daily Living and a member of our Expert Presentation team at the DiabetesEd Training in San Diego.
🌟Updated Schedule: ADA Boot Camp, Tech, MNT & More
Live in Beautiful San Diego – Oct 22-23, 2026
Re-Ignite your Passion & Prepare for Diabetes Certification Exams
🎓 Earn 30+ CEs: AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™, ACPE, ANCC, and CDR!
📅
2-Day Conference
Oct 22–23, 2026
⏱️
15.5 Live CEs
+ 17 bonus CEs
🏅
CDCES & BC-ADM
Exam Prep + Renewal
📍
San Diego, CA
1.7 mi from airport
The field of diabetes care is expanding and evolving rapidly. This unique training conference will keep you on the cutting edge plus prepare you for certification exams. It also fulfills the Standards of Care renewal requirement. Join us for two days of intensive education that is fun and inspiring. Add on the optional Day 3 (Engaging the Disengaged), to complete your conference exeperience.
Coach Beverly and Diana Isaacs, PharmD, BC-ADM, CDCES co-lead an exciting day that brings the ADA and AACE Standards to life. Gain fresh insights, practical tools, and a deeper understanding of the latest in person-centered diabetes care. After attending, you will be empowered to share the latest in diabetes care with your colleagues and the people in your care.
Take your knowledge to the next level with this intensive deep-dive into insulin therapy, dosing and pattern management with Dr. Diana Isaacs. Next, stay for the diabetes tech show-and-tell as Diana demonstrates the specs of the latest pumps and sensors. After lunch, nutrition whiz Christine Craig, MS, RDN, CDCES expertly details the latest in MNT and provides real strategies on translating this content to your clinical practice. You will have a chance to put it all together as Coach Beverly leads you through a series of case studies that integrates content from Day 1 and Day 2.
On Saturday, join this exceptional day-long program led by William H. Polonsky, PhD, CDCES & Susan Guzman, PhD (Behavioral Diabetes Institute) that reveals psychosocial forces behind diabetes self-management — tools to break through resistance and inspire change.
Read more below
📜 Essentials
Registration
+ Printed Syllabus
$559.00
🌟 Deluxe
Essentials
+ ADA Standards Book
$589.00
🏆 Complete – Best Value!
Deluxe
+ ADCES Review Guide e-Book
$669.00
Transform how you engage patients with diabetes — master behavior change, reduce distress, and overcome medication hesitancy.
Why do so many patients know what they should do — but still struggle to do it?
The answer lies in the psychology of diabetes.
In this transformative full-day course, world-renowned experts William H. Polonsky, PhD, CDCES, and Susan Guzman, PhD, from the Behavioral Diabetes Institute reveal the hidden psychosocial forces that drive — or derail — diabetes self-management.
You’ll walk away with a completely new toolkit for breaking through patient resistance, dissolving medication hesitancy, and creating clinical encounters that actually inspire change!
