Calling All Educators: Let Us Know Your Educational Needs

Coincidentally, as I sit to write this editorial, I am marking my eighth year of living with type 1 diabetes. At the time of my diagnosis, I was a newly graduated pharmacist exploring various career options. I remember quite vividly the feeling that came with hearing, “You have diabetes.” What particularly struck me at the time was that I was a health care professional, yet what knowledge I had gained through my education seemingly went out the window at the moment I heard those words. It was a very humbling realization.The paralyzing feeling that ensued immediately led me to wonder how others, many without a health care background, cope with a diagnosis of diabetes and all that comes with it. Only through the devoted attention and support of a small army consisting of my wonderful wife Angie, my parents, multiple diabetes educators, and other family members and friends was I able to bounce back. Given the impact diabetes educators had on my life at that time, I quickly decided on a career path as a diabetes educator.I was fortunate as a graduate of Washington State University in Spokane to have two brilliant and caring educators take me under their wings: Stephen M. Setter, PharmD, CGP, CDE, and R. Keith Campbell, RPh, CDE, MBA, FASHP. Once I decided to pursue a career in diabetes research …