Building Competency in Diabetes Education THE ESSENTIALS

INTRODUCTION| 1-5

BACKGROUND

This manual is supported by the members of the Professional Section Executive of Diabetes Canada (formerly the Canadian Diabetes Association) who support excellence in the practice of SME and SMS. Over the past several decades, Diabetes Canada and the Diabetes Educator Section (now part of the Professional Section of Diabetes Canada) have initiated and participated in a range of projects to support excellence in the practice of SME and SMS. These include, but are not limited to, the following: • The Canadian diabetes educator certification process was developed between 1989 and 1991. It is now a self-regulating body administered through the Canadian Diabetes Educator Certification Board (CDECB) and offers both an examination for initial certification and a credit portfolio option for recertification. • Standards for Diabetes Education in Canada (12) were developed through an extensive consensus-building process from 1991 to 1995 and culminated in a full recognition program (the Diabetes Education Standards Recognition Program), which was launched in 1997. This program was revised in 2001, 2008 and 2014 to reflect changes in the recognition process (13). • The Framework for Diabetes Education for Health Professionals (a core curriculum for workshop development) was published in 1997 (14). • The annual professional conference, held in partnership by Diabetes Canada and the Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism (CSEM) brings together educators, clinicians and scientists to share their expertise, ideas and experiences with other health care professionals. The conference provides the latest information regarding diabetes and related research. Diabetes Canada and the CSEM have also previously partnered with the International Diabetes Federation and with the Canadian Vascular Society for their respective annual conferences, providing a comprehensive program for all health-care professionals involved in the field of diabetes management. • Professional publications and journals, such as the Canadian Journal of Diabetes, are supported by the Professional Section Executive of Diabetes Canada. o The Canadian Journal of Diabetes is Canada’s only indexed, diabetes-oriented, peer reviewed, interdisciplinary journal for diabetes health-care professionals. It is published eight times a year by Elsevier.