Module overview
With the ever increasing complexity, uncertainty and limitations for the increasing number of medications for diabetes it is essential that healthcare professionals are able to make informed treatment choices. Treatment should be individualised to benefit the patient and to achieve goals that are patient specific not target driven.
Patients with diabetes are living longer, but with this, treatment of diabetes is becoming more complex. Diabetes is a progressive disorder and often over time multiple organs may become affected leading to pharmacokinetic issues. Along with these issues there are a growing number of treatments to understand in a rapidly evolving evidence base and with the costs of diabetes care in the NHS ever increasing there are conflicting influences beginning to emerge when prescribing in the NHS.
This module will also provide you with an understanding of dietary management as an integral part of diabetes care. Concepts around weight management in type 2 diabetes and carbohydrate counting in type 1 diabetes are covered.
The multidisciplinary approach to teaching on this module typically will include teaching and interactions with pharmacists, dietitians, nutritionists, doctors, diabetes specialist nurses, scientists, people who have diabetes, and University staff including IT, library staff and the programme team. This multidisciplinary teaching will benefit your knowledge of diabetes team working.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- Appraisal of the full range of therapies for diabetes and describing their action, common side effects, cautions and contraindications.
- Evaluation and discussion of the link between diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the required dietary intervention.
- Proposal and appraisal of the lifestyle and economic factors that play a part in treatment choices for diabetes management.
Subject Specific Practical Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Safely formulate advice on initiation or adjustments of insulin and oral medication when appropriate.
- Discuss and justify the dietary management principles as an integral part of the care package for diabetes and understand the benefit of structured education as part of clinical interventions in type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
- Evaluate and discuss risk factors for complications of diabetes and discuss medication options for prevention and treatment.
Syllabus
1. Modern management of diabetes and economic factors that should drive this
2. Oral diabetes therapies, their action, common side effects, cautions and contraindications
3. Range of insulin options, initiation, adjustment
4. How co-morbidities affect diabetes treatments
5. Case discussions: diabetes and co-morbidities
6. Coping with compliance issues
7. Treatment individualisation
8. Therapies for blood pressure, cholesterol and the complications of diabetes
9. Case discussions: dietary interventions in diabetes
10. Introduction to carbohydrate counting
11. Insulin regimens in relation to different dietary interventions
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Knowledge of the most up-to-date treatments and how to use them in the management of diabetes, as well as use of medical devices appropriate to diabetes, are acquired through a combination of lectures, small group work, workshops, problem solving approaches and practical sessions where you may be able to actively undertake the testing procedures e.g. self-monitoring of blood glucose, insulin pumps and continuous blood glucose monitors.
The emphasis will be on student centred learning in which you will be supported by a wide range of resources. Staff, tutors and colleagues will support your professional learning.
Self directed learning- students will be encouraged to undertake extensive self directed studies, to improve both breadth and depth of their knowledge. This time will partly be preparation for assessments.
The taught components for this module are generally: 70% lectures, 5% small group work, 15% workshops, 5% problem solving approaches and 5% practicals.
Online combination of pre-recorded sessions and live sessions. Face-to-face if safe.
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Teaching | 40 |
| Independent Study | 160 |
| Total study time | 200 |
Resources & Reading list
General Resources
Virtual Learning Environment: blackboard.soton.ac.uk/ module site. There is a list of online/library resources on the module BlackBoard site that may be helpful.
Assessment
Assessment strategy
The assessment for the module provides you with the opportunity to demonstrate achievement of the module learning outcomes. There will be 2 assessment components: written assignment and written case study. The pass mark for assessments is 50%. Compensation is allowed between summative assessments and can be carried forward to the final mark if the qualifying mark of 40% is reached.
If you have failed the module, you will have the opportunity to submit work at the next referral (re-sit) opportunity for all components where you have not achieved the pass mark. Marks for components which were passed will be carried forward. You must achieve the pass mark in all referred components. On passing your referrals, your final module mark will be capped at 50%.
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Written case study | 50% |
| Written assignment | 50% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Individual assignment | 100% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External