This blog highlights important changes in required practice hours experience, celebrates 35 years of the CDCES Credential, and provides helpful study resources.

Taking the CDCES Exam in 2021 or 2022? The Certification Board for Diabetes Care and Education (CBDCE) has announced some important adjustments to the Professional Practice Experience Requirements due to the COVID pandemic.

To address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the ability of health professionals pursuing the CDCES credential to accrue practice experience in diabetes care and education (DCE), the CBDCE Board of Directors has approved temporary changes to the professional practice requirement relating to DCE for initial certification.

CBCDE View Full statement here

Practice Experience Changes take effect April 1, 2021.

1) For applications submitted through 2022, minimum Diabetes Care and Education (DCE) experience needed in prior 12 months reduced from 400 hours to 200 hours;

2) For applications submitted through 2023, minimum of 1000 hours (or 2000 hours for unique qualifications pathway) of DCE experience needed can be accrued over a longer period of time. The time frame is increased from 4 years from application date to 5 years from the application date

Resources to Help

Coach Beverly remembers taking her first CDCES Exam in1992 (29 years ago). Back then, applicants needed 2000 hours of practice experience to qualify and a #2 pencil to bubble in the right answers on the exam scantron. She remembers how nervous she felt as she opened her test booklet and the lack of study tools to prepare for the exam. Because of this experience, Coach Beverly wants to make sure you have the tools you need to realize your professional dream of achieving certification.

Our passion is supporting health care professionals on their journey to gain mastery and become certified diabetes specialists.

Answer 4 Questions to see what Study Tools are Right for You.

CDCES FREE Webinar and Resource Page – Join Coach Beverly on April 1 (no joking)

Practice Hours Spreadsheet Tracker. Download this sheet to easily track your practice hours.

CDCES Coach App – We send you a Question of the Week and Rationale of the Week for FREE!

10 Steps to Success – Coach Beverly has custom-designed your road map to CDCES success!

CDCES First Time Pass Rate

If you are taking the exam for the first time, you may be interested in a historical look back on passing rates.

As you can see, over the past ten years, about two-thirds pass the exam on their first go-round. This informs us that the test is challenging and requires a clear study plan to achieve success with special attention to those content areas that aren’t in our usual daily practice (for example, pediatrics, in-hospital, pregnancy, technology, type 1, etc.).

We offer a myriad of resources to help you on your journey (see list above).

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CBDCE Celebrates 35 Years

This year, the CDCES (formerly CDE) celebrates its 35th Anniversary. There are currently over 19,500 health professionals in the diabetes care and education community that hold the CDCES credential.

And just in case you are wondering, the Certification Board for Diabetes Care and Education (CBDCE) is an independent specialty board responsible for the development and administration of the certification program for diabetes care and education programs. They are separate and independent from any other organization or association.

CBDCE’s mission is to promote comprehensive and ongoing quality diabetes clinical management, education, prevention, and support by defining, developing, maintaining, and protecting the certification and credentialing processes.

Interested in joining the CBDCE Board Of Directors?

If you already have your CDCES and are looking to get more involved with the CBDCE, they are actively seeking applicants for their Board of Directors. Find our more here!

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It’s not too late to reserve your spot for our
Virtual DiabetesEd Specialist Conference | April 15-17, 2021

Whether you are new to diabetes or a seasoned expert, you’ll benefit from this virtual conference with the latest research plus critical content that you can immediately apply to your clinical practice. If you are interested in taking the CDCES or BC-ADM exam or are seeking a state-of-the-art review of current diabetes care, this course is for you.

DiabetesEd Virtual Conference Flyer 2021

Diabetes Ed Virtual 3-Day Schedule 2021

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Entire Program Fee: $399
Dates: April 15-17, 2021
3 Expert Speakers
CEs: 30+ CE hours
Live Webinar Schedule: All webinars start and end times are in Pacific Standard Time

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Come join our Virtual DiabetesEd Specialist Program.

Team of expert faculty includes:

• Diana Isaacs, PharmD, BCPS, BC-ADM, BCACP, CDCES – Educator of the Year, 2020
• Coach Beverly Thomassian, RN, MPH, CDCES, BC-ADM
• Ashley LaBrier, MS, RD, CDCES, Diabetes Program Coordinator

In addition to informative lectures, we also use group activities and case studies to highlight the essential knowledge, skills, and strategies needed to succeed in diabetes education today! 

Prepare for CDCES or BC-ADM certification or earn hours for renewal.

Your registrations include access to all the Online Sessions plus Bonus Courses through December 31^st, 2021.

This virtual program includes:

3 day live webinar courses from April 15th-17th (20 CEs) + enrollment in our Bonus Bundle (14.0+ CEs) from now through December 2021.

• 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.

View full Conference Schedule and Faculty.

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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 do not guarantee 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.”**To satisfy the requirement for renewal of certification by continuing education for the Certification Board for Diabetes Care & Education (CBDCE), continuing education activities must be applicable to diabetes and approved by a provider on the CBDCE List of Recognized Providers (www.ncbde.org). CBDCE does not approve continuing education. Diabetes Education Services is accredited/approved by the Commission of Dietetic Registration which is on the list of CBDCE Recognized Providers.”