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Industry, educators in clinical settings must collaborate for sustained innovation

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NEW ORLEANS — Collaborative efforts between certified diabetes educators in the clinical setting and those in the diabetes care industry can help promote the diversity of knowledge, skills and resources in optimal ways to help support patients and practice, according to a presentation here.

“Diabetes educators have been in industry positions since the 1980s,” Linda Parks, MS, RN, CDE, director of clinical services at Tandem Diabetes Care, told Endocrine Today. “Over the last decade, regulations have been put in place to direct and guide these interactions to prevent conflict of interest, fraud, inducement and improve transparency between industry and health care professionals.”

Linda Parks

Parks notes that this is the first presentation addressing areas of collaboration between diabetes educators in the industry and clinical settings to help benefit the care of people with diabetes.

In the presentation, Parks — along with Kimberley Krapek, DNP-C, CNS, RN, CDE, Kelly Mann, MSN, FNP-BC, RN, CDE, and Mary Pisczak, BS, RN, CDE — discussed their journeys from working in the clinical setting to moving to the industry side.

Pisczak said although the move to the industry setting is sometimes perceived as negative by those still working in clinical settings, she finds her new experiences and skill development worthwhile.

“I really love the new onset of skills and new information I’m getting just because I joined a larger area,” she said. “The potential impact is alluring because I go from treating five patients to taking care of thousands.”

More than 1,000 diabetes educators work in the diabetes care industry in numerous positions that include patient training, sales, product development and leadership roles, according to Parks.

“These educators ... offer support for the diabetes centers and endocrinologist offices with education and training of office staff and patients,” she said. “Additionally, diabetes educators serve in the role of medical science liaisons providing medical information, disseminating company-sponsored research findings and presenting educational programs.”

During the presentation, members of the audience were asked to distinguish between their ideas of the traditional and nontraditional roles of a diabetes educator as well as offer ideas on how to connect the two for the benefit of the profession.

“Be active in your local network of diabetes educators and advocate for new and expanding ways to embrace the diversity,” Parks said. “[These are the] experiences that all health care professionals can bring to improve diabetes care and education,” Parks said. – by Amber Cox

Reference:

Krapek K, et al. T03. Presented at: The American Association of Diabetes Educators Annual Meeting; August 5-8, 2015; New Orleans.

Disclosure: Krapek reports financial ties with Abbott Diabetes Care. Mann, Parks and Pisczak report various financial ties with Tandem Diabetes Care. Krapek reports financial ties with Abbott Diabetes Care.