Diabetes nurse educators and preconception counseling

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the diabetes nurse educator's role, practice, and training in preconception counseling (PC) when caring for adolescents with diabetes. Methods A descriptive, correlational research design, using a cross-sectional survey technique, was used. Subjects were 2003 registered nurse members of the American Association of Diabetes Educators. A survey instrument was developed by the investigator and placed on the World Wide Web. Results Although most of the diabetes nurse educators were aware of PC, most reported not having received any training in PC and would benefit from this education. Thirty percent of the respondents did not routinely provide PC to their adult female clients, and 40% did not provide this to adolescents. Conclusions Results of this study suggest that the diabetes nurse educators in this sample would benefit from receiving instruction about PC. The diabetes nurse educators should be trained to provide PC to all female clients with diabetes of childbearing age starting at puberty.