Building a Pipeline of Training for Behavioral Diabetes Researchers and Clinicians: A Call for National Dialogue

In the context of a diabetes epidemic and health care workforce crisis in the United States, a national dialogue is needed to identify the pathways and mechanisms for training a cohort of behavioral diabetes researchers and clinicians. Over the past 40 years, the field of behavioral diabetes in the United States has emerged from a coalition of individual clinicians and researchers to a specialty field. At present, additional strategies are needed to expand the workforce to keep pace with the increasing prevalence of diabetes and the changing demographic trends. We review the training resources currently available and outline the challenges to trainees at all stages of career development. Recommendations include the following: establishing a Task Force for Behavioral Diabetes Training and Professional Development charged with the creation of a national database of researchers and the development of a training model for this interdisciplinary field; creating a national, collaborative training network; and increasing the number of funding mechanisms for all professionals in behavioral diabetes.