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Recent reports estimate that the United States is 2,700 physician endocrinologists short, particularly in rural and underserved areas. To help fill this critical gap, ɫ�ش�ý University, Yale University, and the University of California, San Francisco have led the way in creating diabetes and endocrine-focused specialty programs for nursing students. Faculty across these three universities are hopeful that such specialty programming can better serve patients needing to manage diabetes or other endocrine-related conditions, improving their quality of life. 

, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, FAANP, Specialty Director of the Endocrinology Program at ɫ�ش�ý, explained the distinction between general and specialty education as it relates to diabetes treatment:

“Traditional nurse practitioner (NP) education is focused on the delivery of outpatient primary care. It includes diabetes management, but not advanced diabetes management,” said Dr. Kreider. “If you look at diabetes through a specialty lens, it opens up many more doors and perspectives, such as diabetes technology like insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors, cardiovascular risk reduction, and complex medication management.”

In addition to filling gaps in access to care, Dr. Kreider said that the program has become an attractive specialty option for a broad range of students since its founding in 2016.

“We have students from a variety of programs and training backgrounds who enroll in the specialty, including FNP, AGNP-PC, DNP, and some pediatric and acute care students. Each of these students finds value in the additional diabetes and endocrinology training,” said Dr. Kreider.

"It is impactful that many of my students have personal or family connections with diabetes/endocrine disorders and they seek this additional training from that inner drive and passion," Dr. Kreider added.

Since Yale and UCSF both have diabetes-specific programs, which at those schools are integrated into MSN programs, Dr. Kreider reached out to their faculty to exchange learnings and ideas; they have since presented together at the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties Conference and co-published a on the topic. 

“We have a great relationship and see each other as collaborators in this space. Each of these programs are outstanding and important in their own way,” said Dr. Kreider.

Dr. Kreider explained that ɫ�ش�ý’s program, originally intended for MSN students, has become increasingly popular among licensed and practicing NPs, some of whom have more than 20 years of endocrine clinical experience.

“I feel so fortunate to be able to teach and direct this program in an area that I love and still practice clinically,” Dr. Kreider said. “The development and flourishing of this program have been the greatest joy of my professional life so far."

And while ɫ�ش�ý's program and those like it are an excellent start to creating better access to diabetes management, Dr. Kreider hopes that enrollment will continue to increase and that such programs will become more widely available. 

"It would be incredible to see more students be able to access this type of high quality, impactful program that can change the trajectory of a career and change population health, particularly in rural or underserved areas that are desperate for endocrine care," said Dr. Kreider.