Diabetes is a chronic, progressive disease that affects millions worldwide. The paradigm of diabetes management has shifted to focus on empowering the person with diabetes to manage the disease successfully and to improve their quality of life. Diabetes self-management education is a collaborative process through which people with diabetes gain the knowledge and skills needed to modify their behavior and to self-manage successfully the disease and its related conditions. Diabetes educators are health care professionals who apply in-depth knowledge and skills in the biological and social sciences, communication, counseling, and pedagogy to enable patients to manage daily and future challenges. Diabetes educators are integral in providing individualized education and promoting behavior change, using a framework of seven self-care behaviors known as the AADE7 Self-Care Behaviors™, developed by the American Association of Diabetes Educators. The iterative process of promoting behavior change includes assessment, goal setting, planning, implementation, evaluation, and documentation. Diabetes educators work as part of the patient’s health care team to engage with the patient in informed, shared decision making. The increasing prevalence of diabetes and the growing focus on its prevention require strategies for providing people with knowledge, skills, and strategies they need and can use. The diabetes educator is the logical facilitator of change. Access to diabetes education is critically important; incorporating diabetes educators into more and varied practice settings will serve to improve clinical and quality of life outcomes for persons with diabetes.

Implications for school health including specifics for school nurses, teachers, students, and school environment were identified.

Purpose Diabetes care and education specialists provide collaborative, comprehensive, and person-centered care and education to people with diabetes and cardiometabolic conditions. The implementation of the vision for the specialty has prompted the need to reexamine the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for diabetes care and education specialists in today’s dynamic health care environment. The purpose of this article is to introduce an updated set of competencies reflective of the profession in this dynamic health care environment. Diabetes care and education specialists are health care professionals who have achieved a core body of knowledge and skills in the biological and social sciences, communication, counseling, and education and who have experience in the care of people with diabetes and related conditions. Members of this specialty encompass a diverse set of health disciplines, including nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, physicians, mental health professionals, podiatrists, optometrists, exercise physiologists, physicians, and others. The competencies are intended to guide practice regardless of discipline and encourage mastery through continuing education, individual study, and mentorship. Conclusion This document articulates the competencies required for diabetes care and education specialists in today’s dynamic health care environment as they pursue excellence in the specialty.

Intradermal buffered lidocaine was superior to intradermal bacteriostatic normal saline in providing local anesthesia prior to IV catheterization in this group of predominately white adults and should be the solution of choice for venipuncture pretreatment.