Passion…… when I reflect on the reason most health care professionals enter the complicated and challenging field of diabetes, one word comes to mind. Passion… a palpable passion to improve the care and outcomes of people with diabetes.

This passion for diabetes grows, changes and multiplies over time. When I think about my own career path, I can see how my passion was ignited, fueled and intensified as a result of my experiences.

You may be visiting this site because you have the diabetes passion. Maybe you are passionate about diabetes in pregnancy or Type 1 diabetes or the pathophysiology of diabetes. Maybe you want to make a difference in improving the care of people with diabetes. Whatever your passion, we are here to help you on this journey. As diabetes specialists, we keep the fire burning and are continual advocates for excellence in diabetes care.

If your passion is Diabetes Education, let’s start your journey together.  Click here to find out the steps to begin your Diabetes Specialist Career with Coach Beverly and our Diabetes Education Services Team.

My passion for diabetes began when, as a new Diabetes Nurse Specialist, I was hired at Stanford Hospital in the mid 1990s. The research team pulled me aside (before I even had my phone hooked up) and informed me that I had one year to demonstrate that an inpatient diabetes nurse could not only improve outcomes, but also reduce the length of stay and the cost of diabetes management.

This was a defining moment in my career. I hunkered down and began investigating the current practices to manage diabetes and gathered baseline data to evaluate the overall level of glucose control. I organized an interdisciplinary diabetes committee and interviewed interns to discern how to best reformulate insulin administration.  After 6 months of intensive investigation it became clear that comprehensive changes were required to improve care and that staff education and buy-in would be critical to success.

Teaching became my passion. If someone would listen, I would start teaching. I taught classes on diabetes to interns, pharmacists, and the health care staff. This expanded into a Diabetes Certification Program, where staff completed an intensive class and other clinical activities to become a “Stanford Certified” Diabetes Nurse.

Other passions developed. Tracking inpatient glucose levels and reporting outcomes became a passion. Outcome data talks and provides the proof that changes is needed. Data plus passion moves care from mediocre to excellent.

Foot care education became a passion. I grieved with many patients who lost limbs due to lack of knowledge about basic foot care facts.

Diabetes prevention is my latest passion. One in three people are expected to have diabetes by the year 2050. This statistic keeps me awake at night and I keep asking myself, what actions can I take to help prevent diabetes?

The great thing about working in the field of diabetes is that there are so many aspects and facets to diabetes. It affects all ages in all health care settings. As for myself, I will continue to teach, reach out to patients and advocate for environmental changes that promote health until there is a cure.

I want to help you follow your passion… let’s go forward together in your Diabetes Education Career.

In appreciation,

Beverly Thomassian
President and Founder
Diabetes Educational Services