A report on diabetes seminars for medical staff: findings from a questionnaire survey

Abstract

To educate diabetic patients properly and efficiently, the knowledge of medical staff regarding treatment and care should be updated regularly. Since November 2008, the National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM) has organized regular diabetes seminars for medical staff. At every seminar, questionnaire surveys were distributed to assess the participants’ backgrounds and their expectations regarding future seminars. To date, 21 seminars have been conducted in Tokyo and other cities in Japan. In all, 2872 medical personnel have participated, including 502 doctors (17.5 %), 1034 nurses (36.0 %), 581 registered dieticians (20.2 %), 366 pharmacists (12.7 %), 121 clinical laboratory technicians (4.2 %), and 58 physical therapists (2.0 %). Among the participants who were eligible to become certified diabetes educators of Japan (CDEJ), 46.5 % were already a CDEJ and 19.7 % were planning to become a CDEJ. The questionnaires were answered by an average of 65 % of the participants. The responses regarding suggestions on the content of future seminars indicated that doctors expected practical lectures, including the presentation of individual cases and diabetic complications. In addition to this content, other medical personnel expected lectures given by members of their own profession, education for diabetic patients, and reports presented by CDEJs. Several seminars have been targeted toward certain professionals, but seminars for professionals from various fields are rare. The diabetes seminars organized by the NCGM met the requirements of all types of medical staff. This type of multidisciplinary seminar should be conducted continuously at regular intervals.