Kristine Batty, APN, BC-ADM, and CDCES joins The Huddle to talk about her experience both living with Type 1 diabetes and working with people with diabetes as a CDCES, and how understanding both sides of the desk can help to optimize health outcomes. Visit danatech here: https://www.adces.org/danatech View Kristine's video series below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPqraDx-aQw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBYpv3LuzBw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otRUIrx6FkI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDrDSSK99-A
Kristine Batty, APN, BC-ADM, and CDCES talks about her experience both living with Type 1 diabetes and working with people with diabetes as a CDCES, and how understanding both sides of the desk can help to optimize health outcomes.
Visit danatech here: Diabetes technology for healthcare professionals | Danatech (adces.org)
View Kristine's video series below:
Reducing Diabetes Technology Burnout (youtube.com)
Continuous Glucose Monitoring: Managing Expectations (youtube.com)
Breaking Down Diabetes Technology Barriers (youtube.com)
The Essentials of CGM Accuracy (youtube.com)
Dana Moreau
Hello and welcome to ADCES's podcast, “The Huddle: Conversations with the diabetes care team”. In each episode, we speak with guests from across the diabetes care space to bring you perspectives, issues, and updates that elevate your role and inform your practice. I'm Dana Moreau, Director of Danatech at the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists. Danatech is an online platform created to address the rapidly evolving diabetes technology landscape. It supports the learning and assessment needs of healthcare professionals with up-to-date product information, device training, professional education, and more. Visit us at danatech .org.
Now, before we begin, I want to point out that the information in this podcast is for informational purposes only and may not be appropriate or applicable for your individual circumstances. This podcast does not provide medical or professional advice and is not a substitute for consultation with a health hcare professional. Please consult your health care professional for any medical questions. So, moving forward today, I am pleased to welcome Dr. Kristine Batty, APN, BCADM, and CDCES. Christine, welcome to The Huddle.
Kirstine Batty
Thank you. I'm so excited to be here.
Dana
Good. I'm always happy to see your face. So we'll start this podcast the way we start most of them, and that's by asking you to share a little bit about your own personal journey and information or just kind of background on why you decided to specialize in diabetes care.
Kristine
You know, it's funny. I've had Type 1 diabetes for coming on 42 years, and people always think that my diabetes brought me to the career that I'm in. But truly, it started back when I was a very young child where my grandfather had Type 2 diabetes. Wasn't called that back then. And then I have another close family member with diabetes. And then lo and behold, I got the disease. I think that my career really was influenced by my grandfather because he always had the greatest education about caring for his diabetes.
Dana
That's great.
Kristine
Yeah. So, you know, when I joined the club of diabetes, I had extraordinary diabetes education. And that's, you know, how I finally landed in this space.
Dana
I mean, clearly, since you were diagnosed quite some time ago, you've learned many lessons. What are maybe some of those lessons that you learned from your own experiences that you didn't find were commonly addressed when you were getting your professional training, like something that may have surprised you?
Kristine
One of the biggest things that surprises me is how when I was diagnosed, I was taught by several diabetes educators how to manage this disease. Nowadays, I see people are not referred to a CDCES, number one. Number two, they are not taught how to say adjust their insulin according to maybe their CGM, things like that. So to me, it's very interesting that we don't allow that flexibility for people to live with their diabetes. We have to remember that people with diabetes are people. We need the flexibility. We need to learn. You know, I'm at my friend's house. I'm eating a little extra something for a baby shower. Here's how I adjust my medication.
Dana
So it sounds like, again, you're really big on patient-centered care. Yes. So I'm wondering, is that what influences your own personal approach? Are there specific aspects of your personal management that you use often and recommend to other patients or clients that you see?
Kristine
I think that my personal journey really influences how I engage with a person with diabetes or one of my patients. The example is today I met a person with new diabetes,19 years old, and this person of course was truly frightened. You know, we hear all the scary things out there and I was able to engage with that person saying, look, I've been doing this for 42 years. I am totally fine. Let's talk about how I can give you the tools to take care of yourself. My journey with diabetes, I remember back when glucose meters didn't exist. You know, the urine testing. And so I've come all the way through and, you know, my experience with technology and different insulins, I use that with my patients. Here's what's available. Let's talk about what you need for your journey.
Dana
Perfect. And from your perspective, I mean, again, you've seen it all, it sounds like, but what do you think are some of the most significant innovations in diabetes care today that have, you know, emerged during your career and how have they changed your approach to managing diabetes, both personally and when recommending professionally?
Kristine
Yeah, it's, it's, it's just so much. Everything from, you know, the invention of meters, CGMs, pumps to apps or telehealth. There's just so much. Truly, you know, I've been wearing a pump for 28 years now, but I have to say that the biggest impact was the continuous glucose monitor.
I remember my first visit after starting a CGM, met with my endo, and he was like, he was jumping up and down, like pulling people into the exam room saying, look how much better the blood glucose is. I think that that impacted my self-care tremendously. And I truly believe that all people with diabetes should have access to technology because it makes such a huge difference. Maybe not a pump for everybody, but certainly a CGM. And I really do try and recommend those devices all the time.
Dana
And that makes sense. Whenever I think of the CGM, I think of that phrase, you can't measure it, you can't manage it.
Kristine
Yeah, we've seen over time, if you're not testing the blood sugar, going back to the point of care, you know, or the finger sticks, or however you want to describe that, you can't see it, you can't treat it. You know, I've had people that come in and they're having this like moment of diabetes distress, and they're, I'm not taking any of my medicine, I can't, and then they come back in, the first thing I will have them do is start monitoring their blood sugar or their CGM data. Maybe not say, you have started all your meds, but just let's look at the numbers. And it's tremendous the impact it has.
Dana
You and I talked a while ago about kind of having this dual perspective. And as you've called it before, like from both sides of the desk. So clearly we decided to do a little video series. Do you want to talk to us about some of the new videos that are coming out and just a little bit about who they're for and at a high level, what are some of the topics that we cover that people can look forward to seeing?
Kristine
Absolutely. Such an exciting project. I had a great time doing this. What I want for providers and people with diabetes is to walk in each other's shoes. Walk a mile in my shoes. I want people to realize that this is what it's like for me to live with diabetes. When you're looking at me, when I'm on the exam table. But I want people to realize that providers are looking at it from a different perspective, right? The videos are, we talked all about technology. What's it like to wear a CGM? What are the trappings of a CGM? How do you not respond to every number on that device when you're feeling so fearful? My gosh, my blood sugar is high after a meal, what do I do? Or the provider looking at, you know, one moment in time and not the whole trend. Looking at pump challenges or benefits of wearing a pump. Really, the videos are talking about life with diabetes technology and just looking at it from different perspectives. How does a person with diabetes live with it? And if you're the provider, how can you meet them where they are and meet their needs?
Dana
Terrific. Those videos were a lot of fun, so we will be getting those out in May. So, people can look forward to that.
Kristine
Yep.
Dana
If you had to pick out just a few pieces of advice that you would give to other health care professionals who don't have this personal experience, which is, I mean, it adds such a great dimension to the care that you provide, but what would you tell them? How can they deepen their understanding and improve their care?
Kristine
Number one, listen. Listen. Listen to the person with diabetes. Listen to their family. Their family needs support just like the person does. You're treating the entity. And you're not treating one moment in time, you're treating beyond that. You're treating, you know, for the long term broadly. Listening is key. But the other thing is don't be afraid of the treatments. Don't be afraid to say, hey, do you want to try a CGM? You may not be comfortable with it. So you might need to seek how to become an expert in that or just know more about it. Don't limit your patient because you're limited yourself or you perceive being limited yourself. You can do it. Providers can do it. Offer it, learn it, and make it happen.
Dana
And if any providers need more information on that, they can find it at danatech.org. So that's a good segue to a plug. But based on your experiences, what future changes? What are you seeing that's coming down the pipeline in diabetes care that you're most hopeful about or think is really going to be a game changer?
Kristine
There's just so many things I'm hoping for. And you know, the fact that we now have ways to screen for Type 1 diabetes and do the prevention of Type 1 is just absolutely phenomenal. But what I really am looking forward to is streamlining the devices. I would love for the sensor to be, you know, directly into the insertion piece of a pump. I would love not to have to, you know, have people have two different devices, a pump and a phone. I want everything streamlined. I don't ever want to have to touch my pump. Please don't make me touch my pump all the time. Or touch a different device. Can we just, you know, I really want that streamlined because I really think that it's going to empower people and it's going to reduce the stigma, the horrible stigma of diabetes and improve care overall.
Dana
One of the things we've been talking about a lot is AI and how it's affecting devices. We have a little time. So you have any thoughts on that?
Kristine
I think that, you know, people talk about AI like, you know, it's like this horrible, horrible thing. But I really think that in the diabetes space, we have such great technology to begin with that we could really use that to leverage diabetes care. I'm not an expert. I know very little about AI, but I'm hoping that we're using probably a little bit of it, I'm sure, but integrating it and leveraging it for the better, of course.
Dana
Okay, so any other thoughts, anything, questions we didn't bring up, but things that you'd want to share with those listening?
Kristine
I really want providers to remember to refer to a CDCS. We all had to learn how to drive our cars and get our driver's license. It is not natural to have diabetes and we need to help people teach them how to do it, give them the tools and support them. We need to provide support constantly. So please remember.
Dana
That is a perfect parting thought. So thank you so much to one of my favorite humans, Kristine, for joining us today. Thank you so much for the work that you do.
Thank you for listening to this episode of The Huddle. Make sure to download the resources discussed on today's episode. You can find them linked in the show notes. And remember, being an ADCES member gets you access to many resources, education, and networking opportunities. Learn about the many benefits of ADCES membership at adces.org/join. Thanks so much for joining us.