Is it July already?!

What has happened in the last three months? Hmmm... let's see. Two main things stand out:

1. I started a new role at work - I am no longer doing the clinic-based diabetes classes and individual education. My new role is focused entirely on the hospital care. Up until this point, all of our diabetes dept. RN's have shared the job of rounding through the hospital, answering questions, reviewing charts of patients with high or low glucose as well as doing in-services for hospital staff, etc. Now, I am the one doing all of these things at the hospital here in Medford. I do rounds in the hospital 3 hours a day, Mon-Thurs. The rest of the time I spend planning, going to various meetings, and working on PI projects. This is a big change. I've been doing it for about two months now and so far, I don't miss the clinic stuff. I am quite passionate about us giving good care in the hospital, so I think this role is a good fit for me.

2. We went on a week-long vacation in Sonoma County, CA in June. Had a really nice time. We stayed in a cozy little cottage in a small town outside of Santa Rosa called Sebastopol. A former pharmacy student that did a rotation with our department and now lives in the East Bay area drove out of her way to meet up with us two days. IT was so fun to see her and to meet her fiancee. We sampled a bit of wine, ate at some slightly upscale restaurants, listened to some good music, had great coffee, saw the coast at Bodega Bay and drove home through the redwood forest. All in all, a relaxing time.

Walking again

I'm still on the committee to help plan the annual fundraiser walk for the American Diabetes Association and I'm walking to raise funds again this year. The walk is October 11th and I'm not exactly looking forward to how busy the next month is going to be. I've got some extra work projects going and planning our big Sydney trip. As soon as we get back, my feet will hit the grounds running because the walk is only 1 week after.

In case you are not aware of all that the ADA does, I'll summarize. They work to benefit people with all types of diabetes (type 1, type 2 and gestational) in three main areas:
1. Legal and political advocacy - Workers can have reasonable accommodations to be able to take their blood glucose readings, insulin and eat when necessary without discrimination. Children with diabetes should be able to safely participate in all school activities. Health insurance should help to pay for the costly care of diabetes. The ADA lobbies in DC for these sorts of rights and offer legal help to individuals who have been treated unfairly.
2. Education and professional leadership - The ADA authors an extensive informative website as well as many brochures about diabetes treatment, self-care and prevention. They also lead the way for appropriate treatment, providing professional conferences and guidelines for adequate care.
3. Research - the ADA helps to fund all kinds of research, some investigating best treatment for all types of diabetes, others searching for a cure. Yes, they do support, lobby for and fund stem cell research, both adult and embryonic. This is the one area that I do not agree with, but I feel that it is a very small piece of what they do.

If you would like to pledge to sponsor me for the walk, you can go here. Thanks