Introduction to DM Educate®

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As the role of a pharmacist continues to expand, pharmacists must be prepared to work as part of a multidisciplinary team in managing patients with diabetes. In partnership with Novo Nordisk, DM Educate®, www.dmeducate.org, was created by University of Pittsburgh faculty as an online comprehensive diabetes management course offered free of charge to schools of pharmacy worldwide. Most schools of pharmacy only spend a few lecture hours on diabetes even though it is a disease that afflicts 7.8 percent of the population and is increasing dramatically. Every pharmacy student that interacts with patients will interact with a patient with diabetes in the first few months or weeks of practice. Patients with diabetes in the United States take an average of 5.8 concurrent medications. They generally have multiple co-morbidities and have a high need for medication therapy management. The comprehensive diabetes management course helps prepare students to meet the challenge of helping patients with diabetes manage their care.

The course has been established as the premiere educational opportunity for pharmacy students in the comprehensive management of patients with diabetes. DM Educate? was made available to schools of pharmacy in July 2006 and its acceptance by schools has been exceptional. Eighty-five Schools of Pharmacy have registered to use the course since its availability. Approximately 6500 students have been exposed to the course in some fashion. The course meets the needs of the schools in a way that allows the faculty member to be creative in developing active learning and interactive discussions around the core material presented by national experts.

Introduction to DM Educate®

DM Educate® is a comprehensive diabetes management course packaged as multiple web-based diabetes educational modules that contain video lectures, on-line tests, and active learning exercises. It is designed to provide the knowledge foundation for skill development in managing patients with diabetes. The contributing faculty members are nationally recognized educators and practitioners in the disciplines of pharmacy, nursing, medicine, behavioral psychology, dietetics, and exercise physiology. The course is available in two separate formats; 1) for schools of pharmacy 2) for healthcare professionals for continuing education (CE) credit.