Teaching patients how to manage diabetic complications complications such as kidney or eye. disease (Jolving, 2011). Through research, we now understand that poorly controlled patients can understand how to manage their disease with extensive education. Weinger and associates randomized 222 diabetic patients with poor coping skills into two groups. One group had an in-depth, ten-hour educational program while the other group received less instruction. After three months, HbA1C decreased by 0.8 percent (Jolving, 2011). So how can we teach patients to manage their diabetes? Diabetes Education I would start by telling the patient that diabetes is a serious chronic metabolic disease that requires pathways. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that destroys the beta cells of the pancreas. These cells are necessary for the production of insulin necessary for life (Leak, Davis, Houchin and Mabry (2009). In DM2, ...