Building Competency in Diabetes Education THE ESSENTIALS

1-6 | CHAPTER 1

o The Diabetes Communicator is a newsletter that provides information on the activities of Diabetes Canada professional members and disseminates relevant, practice based information to the Professional Section members across Canada. It is published four times a year. This manual, The Essentials , was first added to this group of initiatives in 2001. It originated from the previous resource for professional education, The Framework for Diabetes Education for Health Professionals (14). We are grateful to the original authors of this framework and trust that they will approve of our modifications and additions. The learning objectives for each chapter were established collaboratively by the original Professional Development Committee, and then reviewed by the authors and the Professional Development Committee. They have also been compared to the International Curriculum for Diabetes Health Professional Education published by the International Diabetes Federation (15). We are grateful to those who contributed their feedback and whose suggestions have been incorporated in these revisions. This 5 th edition of The Essentials manual has been updated to reflect new evidence and the changes made in the Diabetes Canada 2018 Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Diabetes in Canada (2018 Guidelines). How these changes will affect the delivery of our care is a question that will need to be answered by every diabetes educator as they engage in their practice. In this edition, we have also incorporated and updated some information previously found in the Building Competency in Diabetes Education: Advancing Practice manual. The Advancing Practice manual will no longer be published as a separate entity, but modules will be developed for more intensive review of some topics previously found in the Advancing Practice manual. It is our sincere hope that you will find the information in this 5th edition of The Essentials manual invaluable as you engage in the journey of learning the essence of diabetes self-management education and support. Diabetes Canada 2018 Clinical Practice Guidelines Canada has been a leader in the development of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines since the initial publication of Diabetes Canada’s 1992 clinical practice guidelines (2). These guidelines represent the results of a stringent, interdisciplinary effort to ensure excellence in the care of persons with diabetes. New this year in the 2018 Guidelines is the expanded harmonization with several other sets of guidelines which impact the treatment of patients with diabetes, particularly in regard to co-morbidities or special circumstances. This addition also draws authors from more diverse backgrounds, including informed people living with diabetes. Also, for the first time, key messages for people with diabetes have been included in each chapter. The 2018 Guidelines include specific information on: