Diabetes Education

...is exactly what I've been up to all week! I've spent all this week at Domino's Farms in Ann Arbor, where the diabetes education RD's have their own office...which even has an administrative assistant, crazy! 


But every day, there are about 3-5 patients who come in for outpatient counseling for control of their diabetes. A lot of the patients are interested in weight loss as well and they kind of go hand-in-hand. It's crazy about the wide variety of patients who come through on a daily basis. Some are completely compliant, get good exercise, have an adequate diet, and control of their diabetes. Then, on the other hand, there are patients who are completely non-compliant, don't count their carbohydrates or even attempt to regulate their diet, and they wonder why they haven't been able to lose weight or have blood glucose values all over the place.


I'm definitely learning a lot, though. Especially for this being my real first look and chance to get experience with counseling. Today I was in the "hot seat" and took the lead on a patient, but my preceptor was in with me as well. There were a few times where I came to a stand-still and didn't know what to say next, but my preceptor picked up on this and filled in right away. Although I felt like I failed completely, she said that I did well for my first time counseling and that it just takes a lot of practice. She reassured me that she had to work at it for a while and became more comfortable over time. Because she's been counseling diabetic patients for a while now, it seems as though she has a certain flow of questions that just seem to come naturally for this population. 


Practice, practice, practice. I'm gettin' there.


On another note, I'm exhausted. I can't believe that everyone is in their finals week and graduation is coming up, and I still have 2 months to go...


56 days to go.