Registered Nurse - Diabetes Educator

Diabetes Educator

Assesses, plans, implements, and evaluates diabetes educational needs to facilitate learner development and skill training. Utilizes innovative teaching strategies, assessment skills, and evaluation of outcomes. Assumes responsibility for the coordination of diabetes education focused on patient education, self-management, and customer satisfaction throughout the healthcare continuum. Follows procedures per established policies and guidelines. Influences educational outcomes by collaborating with members of the interdisciplinary team.

Core elements of performance include knowledge and active participation in the department level quality improvement process and initiatives as well as customer service programs. Responsible for providing expert, evidence-based diabetes education to staff and patients. Provides educational instruction and training for diabetic patients throughout the medical facility. The Diabetes Educator understands instructional design, implementation, and application related to education and training.

Demonstrates knowledge and application of professional standards related to patient diabetes care. Performs learning needs assessments, develops educational trainings for patients and staff within organization. Provides guidance on home glucose monitoring, insulin injection techniques, use/management of insulin pumps, continuous glucose monitoring systems, and adjusting insulin regimes based on glycemic control goals. Develops entry level coaching and mentoring skills. Systematically evaluates current practice, formulate appropriate diabetic outcomes for groups of patients and/or organizational processes within area of expertise.

Collaborates with other Clinical Nurse Educators and interprofessional healthcare teams in the ongoing clinical education activities including in-services, training, competency assessment, and evaluations of both current and new staff nursing skills. Acts as a consultant in patient diabetes care principles and performance measures. Reviews current nursing literature for new diabetic trends and changes based on evidence-based research with the ability to propose practice and documentation revisions based on evaluation of outcomes.

Utilizes best practices and benchmarking to establish realistic goals for patient diabetes care initiatives. Collaborates with leadership and unit managers to identify diabetics educational training needs for staff, while supporting activities that foster competence, critical thinking skills, and decision making. Provides consultation and collaboration through the participation within organizational committees. Demonstrates expertise in professional practice using the nursing process (assessment, diagnosis, outcome identification, planning, implementation, and evaluation) with improved evidence-based and/or data-driven outcomes beyond the immediate practice setting.

Leads and organizes delivery of care to ensure continuity of care and peer accountability for practice in alignment with the ANA Standards of Nursing Practice. Applies advanced clinical knowledge/judgment to lead staff involvement in planning, decision-making, and evaluating outcomes beyond the immediate practice setting. Applies nursing expertise to lead improvement, with demonstrated outcomes, beyond the immediate practice setting. Leads initiatives to improve Veteran/patient experience, satisfaction and/or safety beyond the immediate practice setting.

Leads initiatives to improve the Veteran experience i.e., care coordination, timeliness to resolve issues, negative trends, or environment of care concerns, beyond the immediate practice setting. Demonstrates leadership in patient advocacy by protecting the health, safety, and rights of patient population groups beyond the immediate practice setting. Leads staff to identify, analyze and address ethical issues that impact patients, caregivers and staff beyond the immediate practice setting.