It was very exciting to get a big, white envelope from AADE in the mail a couple of weeks ago. It was even more exciting to see what was inside. It was the TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR DIABETES Diabetes Education Prompt Deck. I am especially proud because I was part of the group that helped gather information for the deck (along with some of our other bloggers). We had a conference call to brainstorm; I did some follow-up work on choosing some “best” questions/activities/discussions; the answer ideas were compiled; and voilà, the deck was born! (Well, lots of work was done behind the scenes.)
If you haven’t looked at yours, it is a big deck of cards with prompts for discussions, questions and answers, and activities. It covers 8 areas: General Diabetes Information and the AADE7. Can you name them? Healthy Eating, Being Active, Monitoring, Taking Medications, Problem Solving, Reducing Risks, and Healthy Coping.
Accompanying the deck is an Educator Guide. This has tips and notes for the educator. The instructions make a point to state “it is not exhaustive and does not provide all the answers or cover all the topics that you will address in your diabetes education class.” It does have some great little tips, though. There is also a website for patient-friendly information at www.diabetesselfcare.org. There is a goal-setting sheet, a “Know your numbers to prevent complications” handout, a “Targeting Good Health: Test your knowledge” activity, and lots of other information.
Did you get your deck? Have you opened it? Looked at it? Thought of how you might use it?
I am pulling some of the cards out for our weight-management program this week. I will use the Being Active section in our comprehensive diabetes class. I think it will be fun to take it to some of our community events to encourage interaction.
What ideas do you have?
Thanks to AADE and the sponsoring companies for making this happen!