Becoming a certified diabetes educator in the US requires a medical license, work experience, specialized diabetes classes, and passing the NCBDE exam. Recertification is required every five years. Educators assist patients with diabetes in creating management plans and require experience in medicine or a medical field. The exam is computer-based, and passing scores are valid for five years. Recertification requires 1,000 hours of education experience or 75 hours of diabetes education courses and retaking the exam.
Many requirements are needed to become a certified diabetes educator in the United States. You must have a license in a medical field and have significant work experience. It is also necessary to take specialized classes in diabetes. Finally, passing the National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators (NCBDE) exam is the final step towards certification. Another set of rules governs recertification, a process that takes place five years after initial certification.
A certified diabetes educator assists individuals with diabetes in creating effective diabetes management plans. While most educators are not physicians, they work in hospitals as patient mentors, teaching everything from proper nutrition to what to do when blood glucose levels rise or fall too low. The path to becoming a certified diabetes educator has many requirements to protect patients and ensure their quality of life.
Before you consider the goal of becoming a certified diabetes educator, you need experience in medicine or a medical field. The NCBDE is strict in its requirements on who can sit for the certification exam. Your first requirement concerns educational background. Registered doctors and registered nurses are certainly eligible, as are clinical psychologists and licensed nutritionists. Individuals with an advanced degree in social work are also eligible.
The second requirement for becoming a certified diabetes educator is experience. At least two years of experience in the fields described above are required. In addition to work experience in your chosen medical field, you need 100 hours of diabetes self-management education (DSME) experience, 40 of those hours occurring in the year before your exam date. DSME is defined as working individually with diabetic patients to create an individualized life plan that spares the negative side effects of diabetes.
If you meet the educational and experience requirements, the NCDBE will allow you to take your certification exam. The exam is taken on a computer and consists of multiple-choice questions. Out of a maximum of 99 points, 70 is the passing score. Scores are delivered to you by mail. Passing the exam will grant a certification valid for five years.
As diabetes education is an evolving field, to become a certified diabetes educator you must commit to the profession after initial certification. The NCBDE requires recertification every five years to ensure that diabetes educators are still providing accurate guidance and advice to patients with diabetes. If you have 1,000 hours or more of education experience, you can simply apply for recertification. Less than this amount will require you to complete 75 hours of diabetes education courses and retake the certification exam.
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