Building Competency in Diabetes Education THE ESSENTIALS

BASAL-BOLUS INSULIN THERAPY | 12-100

Summary A rigid meal plan can be an obstacle to good metabolic control. Establishing an individualized and flexible meal plan may be more useful for helping patients achieve their diabetes management goals. Carbohydrate counting is an effective strategy for achieving these goals. Consistent effort is required to do carbohydrate counting correctly and effectively. If the task seems too daunting to patients, encourage them to work on it in small pieces at a time; for example, to keep food records, count carbohydrate and aim for consistent carbohydrate at dinner. When this task becomes easier, they can work on a different time of day. As there is a large content base related to nutritional management, multiple educational sessions are highly useful. If multiple visits are not possible, patients can send records to their educators via fax or email and, along with telephone consultations, ongoing follow-up can be achieved.