Case Study: A Patient With Type 1 Diabetes Who Transitions to Insulin Pump Therapy by Working With an Advanced Practice Dietitian

Registered dietitians (RDs) who have earned the Board Certified–Advanced Diabetes Manager (BC-ADM) credential hold a master’s or doctorate degree in a clinically relevant area and have at least 500 hours of recent experience helping with the clinical management of people with diabetes.1 They work in both inpatient and outpatient settings, including diabetes or endocrine-based specialty clinics, primary care offices, hospitals, and private practices. Advanced practice dietitians provide all components of diabetes care, including advanced assessment (medical history and physical examination), diagnosis, medical management, education, counseling, and overall case management.

The role of RDs in case and disease management was explored in a recent article2 that included interviews with three dietitians who work as case managers or disease managers. All three reported experiencing challenges in practice and noted that the meaning of “case management” varies from one health care setting to another. This is also true for RD, BC-ADMs. Advanced practice dietitians specializing in diabetes require case management expertise that stresses communication skills, knowing the limits of your own discipline, knowing how to interact with other health care professionals, and knowing when to seek the expertise of other members of the diabetes care team.

Clinical practice includes assessment and data collection, diagnosis and problem identification, planning, and intervention. In many cases, diabetes educators who are dietitians and those who are nurses are cross-trained to perform the same roles. The first one to meet with a client handles that client’s assessment, and cases are discussed and interventions planned at weekly team meetings.