As native to Jacksonville, FL, I have spent my entire life in north Florida.   Having worked as a hospital nurse at Mayo Clinic Hospital for 19 years, I have spent a lot of time at the bedside.  The first 8 years were in Cardiology, and the last 10 years were as the Diabetes Educator for the entire hospital.  This has given me a background in cardiology as well as transplant, medical surgical and pancreatic surgeries (Whipple, pancreatectomy).  I am currently working as a nursing clinical instructor at UNF, helping to grow the next generation of nurses.  

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After being part of a really good hospital for 19 years, I saw many barriers that kept people from having access to diabetes education.  Lack of  available diabetes educators, no insurance for follow-up care after hospitalization, no PCP referral for diabetes education, and ultimately lack of time in our fast-paced healthcare system.  These were system disparities that I could not fix in my staff nurse position.  I took a hard look at how I would do it differently:  I would create education that does not need insurance, does not need a doctor referral, and that the patient can access education whenever (and however often) they needed.  That is why "removing barriers to diabetes education" has become my goal, because there shouldn't be barriers to understanding how to care for your diabetes.  

 

Each patient education session is unique.  Some people are just starting on this journey, others have been on this road for a long time but have new questions.   Many patients want to include their family members for the education which is a great idea.

 

Prior to being a nurse, I had the privilege of being an elementary education teacher.  These two careers combine well to make me a highly effective diabetes educator.   As an educator, I understand that everyone learns differently.  Some people prefer to talk, some learn best by reading, a lot prefer hands on.  Most people need all three to make learning a success.  Patience and repetition is something I take pride in, each person learns differently and at their own pace.  I bring these elements to each diabetes education session to help you get the most out of our time together.