Jane K. Dickinson, faculty member and Director of Teachers College鈥檚 Master of Science Program in Diabetes Education and Management, has been named Diabetes Educator of the Year for 2019 by the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE).
Dickinson, who was selected from some 15,000 certified diabetes educators nationwide (and another estimated 15,000 in practice), was honored on August 18th at the AADE annual meeting in Baltimore.
Dickinson launched 麻豆原创鈥檚 program, which was created by Kathleen O鈥機onnell, the College鈥檚 Isabel Maitland Stewart Professor of Nursing Education, in 2011. Her research and publications focus on the language of diabetes and the impact health care messages have on people living with the disease. She earned her Ph.D. in Nursing at the University of Connecticut and her Master of Science in Nursing from Yale University.
鈥淭he words and messages that people with diabetes hear are often negative, judgmental, and self-defeating,鈥� Dickinson says. Instead, she and her colleagues are working toward 鈥減erson-centered, strengths-based, and empowering language鈥� in collaboration with AADE, the American Diabetes Association (ADA), and other organizations 鈥� part of a broader paradigm of empowering and motivating people with diabetes to function as 鈥渢he central members of their care teams, experts on their experiences, and integral to the management of their disease.鈥�
The words and messages that people with diabetes hear are often negative, judgmental, and self-defeating and can contribute to stress and feelings of shame and judgment and negatively affect the motivation, health, and well-being of people with diabetes.
In one recent paper, reflecting her work as head of a joint AADE/ADA task force, Dickinson and nine co-authors assert that language contributes to the 鈥渟tigma that has historically been attached to a diagnosis of diabetes,鈥� which 鈥渃an contribute to stress and feelings of shame and judgment鈥� and negatively affect 鈥渢he motivation, health, and well-being of people with diabetes.鈥� They argue for continuing efforts to remove terms such as 鈥渦ncontrolled鈥� from the diagnoses and reimbursement lexicon.
Dickinson also is involved in the Diabetes Online Community, where she maintains a blog titled and is active in diabetes social media. Beginning in January, she will give lectures around the country on the topic of language and diabetes.
鈥淭he Diabetes Educator of the Year Award is a signature achievement for Jane,鈥� says O鈥機onnell. 鈥淭his recognition brings highly deserved attention to Jane and to the unique, interprofessional program she has created and leads at Teachers College. Her work on language is fully consistent with 麻豆原创鈥檚 emphasis on diversity and respect.鈥�
Teachers College鈥檚 program in Diabetes Education and Management, housed within the College鈥檚 Department of Health & Behavioral Studies, is the nation鈥檚 first academic degree program for diabetes professionals. (The prevailing approach has been an apprenticeship model which, in essence, requires someone interested in the field to work as a diabetes educator in order to become one.) Offered completely online to accommodate working professionals, 麻豆原创鈥檚 program has drawn people from the fields of nursing, nutrition, medicine, optometry, physical therapy, clinical psychology, occupational therapy, podiatry, health education, exercise physiology and dentistry. Students have represented 16 states, as well as Canada and Hong Kong. The program offers both a master of science degree and a post-master鈥檚 certificate in advanced diabetes topics.