What’s love got to do with it? It is all about love. Love is the engine that ignites and fuels it all. It all starts with respecting ourselves enough and caring enough to do the right thing. Being on a plane, we are instructed to put the oxygen mask on our face before we can assist the child passenger. The same applies in diabetes, as we need to attend to our internal needs first to be able help others.

As many of you already know, the diabetes Conversation Map® tools are a full curriculum for type 2 DSME/S. This means that the content covered during the Map sessions, with supporting materials, meets the American Diabetes Association Recognition criteria for a complete DSME curriculum.

Diabetes is a condition that affects the entire family. Many aspects of daily living, such as eating, working, sleeping, physical activity, and stress management can be greatly impacted. An approach I feel strongly about, and I think many of us have adopted, is to invite patients' family members and caregivers to group diabetes education sessions. Including caregivers in these sessions creates an environment in which all participants not only learn how to manage diabetes together, but also learn how to support each other.

Long before I became a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE), I was providing Diabetes Self-Management Education (DSME) as a registered dietitian in an ADA Recognized Program. I had lots of education and experience in diabetes, but was not working towards my CDE. I thank a former manager for encouraging me to become certified, which I did in 2002. In the process, I was fortunate to work with other CDE’s who helped me achieve this goal.

I have happy memories of the diabetes rotation during my dietetic internship program. As an intern, one of my duties was to go from patient room to patient room, gathering participants for diabetes class. We had a spacious classroom available on the unit, complete with a blackboard, teaching materials, and comfortable chairs.

Does the following scenario sound familiar? You, an intelligent healthcare professional, sit at your desk at home attempting to set up your new smart phone or create an Excel document. No matter how hard you try, you cannot get the job done! Suddenly, a teenager waiting to use your desktop enters, grabbing the mouse or phone from your hand announcing,” This is SO easy! Here, I’ll show you how to do it!”

My name is Bob Boardman and I’m an RN CDE at a rural hospital in Washington State. We’ve been using Conversation Map ® education tools for over a year and I’m a big fan. The folks at Healthy Interactions wanted to know how we’d come to adopt the Maps. Here’s our story.