[judi t]

I'm freaking out a bit at what you're going through, Subby. And I notice you're from Melbourne. Wouldn't it be ironic if you are also dealing with the Diabetes Educator from the Dark Side!

I've decided I'm definitely changing my DE. When I visited her last Friday, I'd forgotten to ask for a medical certificate. I left a message on her answering service asking if she could post one out to me. Well, she did. On the Certificate of Attendance she made the remark that I'd attended the clinic between 8 and 9.30 am! I've been visiting an endo at that same hospital for 26 years and he's never specified the number of minutes I've been there. She was evidently trying to deny me my morning off! What a horror. There's no way I'm working with her. She's going to be obstreperous at every opportunity. She'd be likely to set my basal rates too low - or whatever - to give me a big hypo in the middle of the night to teach me a lesson!!

Why do these people go into the caring profession??

[Subby]

Ouch... yep, move on, and pretty please PM me if you find a caring, progressive, inclusive educator/team in Melb (and I will do the same). I don't know if that DE is the same as mine, but our endos sure sound similar. Good luck.

On another note on this theme, the other day I was picking up some strips from a chemist, and a guy who was obviously facing his demons and getting a tester and strips for the first time in something like 5 years, was faced with a DE (or maybe a pharmacy assistant) who I felt like going and hitting. She was filling out a form at the desk:

her: "So how many times a day do you test?"
him: "oh, I havn't tested in years" (really embarrassed)
her: "you naughty boy" (in a tsk tsk gee you should know better tone and this guy is about 38 by the way)
him: "Well.... that's what I'm here for" (getting red faced and defensive)
her: "so how many times a week? Oh, no, that's right, not for years hey? (laughs loudly AT him) You know you should be doing it every day? What am I supposed to write on this form? Are we meant to think you are going to just start testing all of a sudden?" (In a really nasty "yeah right, that'll be the day" tone)

By this stage I could feel his thinking had changed to a bewildered "D this attitude, D my diabetes, D the whole blasted thing"... and I knew exactly how he felt, especially faced with nasty, blinkered hostility like that. I had to walk out to stop myself sticking my nose in, so I've got no idea what happened from there (probably downhill).

I was wondering exactly the same question as you Judi, Why are these people working in that industry?

[judi t]

Hi
I had a similar experience with some jumped up little serving girl in my local chemist. Normally I send my husband into town to pick up my gear, but seeing as all these local agencies had sprung up, I thought I'd take advantage. So there I was, with this seventeen year old - or thereabouts - with her fake nails - not that there's anything wrong with that! _ asking me how many times I tested. I thought it was an impertinent question but I told her that I tested seven to ten times a day. "That's a lot," she says. "Sorry?" I said. "Do you actually have diabetes?" No she replies. "Then how do you know whether that's a lot or not??" She told me that most people didn't do that many tests. I've never been back there. It's worth the trip into town to get my supplies and not be served by an ignoramus with 'a little knowledge'.