That's right, folks. I'm in diabetes education for the second week in a row! I am with the same preceptor at the same place, but definitely not with the same patients.
Today was a very interesting and informative day, nonetheless. I spent the first half of my day in the diabetes education class. Remember how I attended a diabetes education class last Monday? Well, the class is broken down into four, 2.5 hour classes. The first class is taught by an RD and revolves around what diabetes is, carbohydrate counting, how insulin affects blood sugars, etc. The second class, which I attended today, is about medications that are given to those who are pre-diabetic and diabetic, as well as symptoms and what to do about hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia. It was interesting and the dynamic of the patients/students is always fun!
Then I ate a (super) quick lunch and it was onto the next patient of the day, a woman who was starting her insulin pump. This is a HUGE day for a diabetic patient, as they will no longer have to inject themselves 1-4,203,957 times a day with insulin needles. It was an extremely informative session and the patient was so happy to now have an insulin pump.
An insulin pump is a device that is worn by the patient 24 hours a day. It has a soft plastic needle that attaches to the persons abdomen (or any fatty tissue, really), and has a long tube that is attached to a device which clips onto their belt. The device is similar to the size of a small cell phone, even smaller than a deck of cards. This device holds the liquid insulin and when prompted, it injects insulin through the tube, through the needle, and into the patient!
The afternoon ended with a general type 2 diabetes education to a patient who was only borderline type 2. More of just healthy diet and lifestyle changes that could help avoid a definite diagnosis.
Overall, the day went so quickly! Hopefully tomorrow goes just as fast. Tomorrow is another day where I don't have to be there until noon, but I stay late to attend the type 1 diabetes class. Through the process of being there on Tuesdays, I've come to the conclusion that I'm definitely a morning person. Even though I don't have to be in until noon, I find myself waking up at 5:00am and having a workout in and being ready for work by 8:00am. And that's with taking my sweet time. Luckily it's the last time I'll have to do that!
On an even better note, I'm an official published author! The research I worked on in undergrad has been published in the Journal of Drugs and Aging. I'm SOOOO excited! The link is below if anyone wants to check it out :)
Polypharmacy and Nutritional Status in Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study
52 days and counting...
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