UNT HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER DVD SET TEACHES HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS TO DIAGNOSE AND TREAT DIABETES
The Office of Professional and Continuing Education at the University of North Texas Health Science Center has created a one-stop training program for health care professionals working in the diagnosis and treatment of Type II Diabetes—the most common form of diabetes. In Type II Diabetes, the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin, which is a hormone that allows cells to use sugar circulating in the blood. When the sugar—called glucose—builds up in the blood, it causes cells to be starved for energy and overtime may affect the eyes, kidneys or heart. Diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and has no cure.
“Approximately 6 percent of the United States population is infected with diabetes,” said Pam McFadden, associate vice president of professional and continuing education. “Of that 18 million, about 5 million people don’t know they have the disease. It is important that members of our health care community are able to diagnose diabetes and work with patients on treatment options.”
The training program, called “Changing Course: Diagnosing & Treating Type II Diabetes,” provides continuing education for nurse practitioners, nurses, physician assistants and physicians who provide primary care to diabetic patients. The three DVD set addresses the basics of type 2 diabetes, the latest information on diagnosis and treatment, interactive patient cases and even includes a patient education video.
It was designed to increase communication and collaboration between members of the health care team to improve patient outcomes in type 2 diabetes. Each disc can be used in a standard DVD player or in a computer equipped with a DVD disc drive.
“The DVD format was chosen because it truly allows a health care professional to create an individualized learning experience,” McFadden said. “They can choose what they want to watch, when they want to watch it, skipping what they already know and focusing more on what they want or need to know.”
The training DVD will be available Jan. 1, 2005, from the Office of Professional and Continuing Education at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. For information, call 800-987-2263.
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Contact: Becky Purvis, bpurvis@hsc.unt.edu, 817-735-5152, pager: 817-216-0345 or 8172160345@archwireless.net
The University of North Texas Health Science Center is composed of the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the School of Public Health and the School of Health Professions. The center’s Institutes for Discovery conduct leading-edge research on select health issues, including vision, aging, cancer, heart disease, physical medicine, and public health. A 100-member physician group practice, The Physicians & Surgeons Medical Group, manages nearly 200,000 Fort Worth-area patient visits yearly. The institution injects nearly $500 million into Tarrant County and Texas’ economies annually.
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