What's Urgent? What's Important? An Open Letter to Educators in Diabetes

I'm a letter writer. Cryptic e-mail messages have their place, and you can't replicate in writing the inflection of voice in a telephone call. But as the poet John Donne mused, “Letters mingle souls.” When written from the heart, letters are dreams on paper. They can chronicle life's struggles and triumphs. They can be joyful expressions of appreciation.

In preparing my remarks, I reflected on what both novices and experienced veterans in diabetes care and education have in common. We're passionate about providing the best and increasingly better care for people with diabetes. But what could I say to this talented group of people, who have taught me so much? So I decided to write you a letter.

In this spirit, I offer this open letter to educators of all disciplines in diabetes care, whether novice or expert. Starting with the salutation...

Dear colleagues in diabetes,

We all have our stories, our lessons learned, that have shaped our careers in diabetes. I've chosen a few that have sustained me over almost three decades in diabetes education and share them below.

Lesson 1: Never let the urgent crowd out the important.

In my job as administrator and clinician, I struggle with the demands of wearing both hats. I've learned that I have to call the accounting staff with billing problems before they leave at 4:00 p.m., but I can return calls from patients when they are home in the evening. Most times, though, the juggling act is more nuanced, and I can easily lose my way. One Friday afternoon, I was working on the department budget after asking for two extensions of the deadline. We'd been mandated to cut our budget for the next year, and I was struggling to identify what to cut from an already lean budget.

Steve, a 24-year-old patient with type 1 diabetes, knocked at my door. …