The Art of Empowerment : Stories and Strategies for Diabetes Educators

Rating:
Summary: What a nice surprise
Review: I wasn't sure what I was getting when I ordered this book. My initial thoughts were that this might be helful in managing our heart failure patients. After all chronic disease is chronic disease. I got so much more then I bargained for. "The Art of Empowerment: Stories and Strategies for the Daibetes Educators" is more then a book with the hows and the whys; it is a journey. One that encompases self-reflection and the willingness to take a good hard look at your existing belief system. The authors artfully walk you through how they developed their philosophy of empowerment. That empowerment for both the educator and patient come from the concepts of freedom and responsibility. "Because we are free to make choices, we are responsible for the consequences of out choices". The book is rich with stories from nurses, educators, psychologists and physicians who have taken the steps through self-reflection to create a vision. What is our purpose as diabetes educators? Each charpter is design to provide you with tools and exercises that will help you with the process of self-reflection. Empowerment is a vision or a philosophy of giving care, the vision comes before the method and the vison comes through self-reflection. Coincidently, while reading this book, I was doing some work with one of the NPs at our hospital who manages the diabetes clinic. It was amazing to me to actually see the many opportunites to use this strategy as we saw patients over the past two weeks. My NP has asked if she could borrow my book when I am done. I have decided to buy her a copy of her own.

Rating:
Summary: What a nice surprise
Review: I wasn't sure what I was getting when I ordered this book. My initial thoughts were that this might be helful in managing our heart failure patients. After all chronic disease is chronic disease. I got so much more then I bargained for. "The Art of Empowerment: Stories and Strategies for the Daibetes Educators" is more then a book with the hows and the whys; it is a journey. One that encompases self-reflection and the willingness to take a good hard look at your existing belief system. The authors artfully walk you through how they developed their philosophy of empowerment. That empowerment for both the educator and patient come from the concepts of freedom and responsibility. "Because we are free to make choices, we are responsible for the consequences of out choices". The book is rich with stories from nurses, educators, psychologists and physicians who have taken the steps through self-reflection to create a vision. What is our purpose as diabetes educators? Each charpter is design to provide you with tools and exercises that will help you with the process of self-reflection. Empowerment is a vision or a philosophy of giving care, the vision comes before the method and the vison comes through self-reflection. Coincidently, while reading this book, I was doing some work with one of the NPs at our hospital who manages the diabetes clinic. It was amazing to me to actually see the many opportunites to use this strategy as we saw patients over the past two weeks. My NP has asked if she could borrow my book when I am done. I have decided to buy her a copy of her own.