Second semester undergraduate member, Brooklin, recently gave her second article presentation. She guided the lab through Knowledge of diabetes among personnel in home-based care: how does it relate to medical mishaps? by Synnove Odegard and D.K.G. Andersson, published in 2001. This study aimed to assess the influence of deficiencies in knowledge about diabetes, diabetes care, and patient safety. The researchers administered a questionnaire to nurse’s aides and assistant nurses in both institutional care settings and home-based care settings. Results showed that majority of the participants, who hold responsibilities for giving insulin injections, expressed not having enough knowledge about diabetes. They also found that nurse’s aides were more likely to make errors in the field when treating their diabetic patients, due to a lack of adequate knowledge on the disease and its treatment methods, and the lack of colleague interaction in home based settings. The researchers hope their findings will help increase the requirements of nurse’s aides and assistants who work closely with elderly diabetic patients and help to create programs for those working in the field. Doing so would help decrease potentially serious mishaps in health care systems and increase overall patient care. Brooklin plans to continue working with the topic of medical mishaps throughout the rest of the semester in the lab. Great job on your article presentation, Brooklin, and good luck with future research!
FF-PTG LAB 