Making It Happen

Nursing

In this section you will find:

• Slide Presentation
• Reference list and Key Readings
• Selected published literature

Key Points:

• Nurses are essential - and central - to successful implementation of protocols, order sets, glucose monitoring, and educational programs to support improved glycemic control
• Because nurses oversee inpatient care on a 24-hour basis (regardless of the nursing system structure), nurses have opportunities to coordinate care of patients with hyperglycemia
• The particular nurses who will be most involved in implementing these systems should also be involved in planning, design, and evaluation of any new method for delivery of care
• Because each hospital is unique, all departments should be represented in designing an approach that will provide safe, quality care for inpatients with hyperglycemia
•  Nursing in-service training, especially with regard to insulin therapy, should be both adequate and ongoing to assure meeting the needs of the inpatient with hyperglycemia
• Diabetes educators and nursing staff should collaborate in the provision of basic “survival skills” when needed to allow for a safe discharge