Every subdivision in the health care profession must have its own organization or organizations. For individuals involved in education, specifically education about diabetes, the organization of choice is the American Association of Diabetes Educators. Membership with a professional organization benefits the industry as a whole as well as you at a personal level. In some instances employers prefer to hire individuals who do have membership of some kind.
About
The American Association of Diabetes Educators, or AADE as it is often called, is an association that exists for the specific purpose of ensuring that the value of diabetes education is not overlooked by the general public. Its members, consisting of healthcare professionals with an interest in diabetes education as well as actual diabetes educators, are represented thoroughly in every walk of life and are given a guarantee that their interests will always be considered.
The mission statement of the American Association of Diabetes Educators is the following:
“Driving practice to promote healthy living through self-management of diabetes and related chronic conditions”
The association’s values are:
Leadership
AADE champions and encourages effective leadership in our organization and in our membership. Our projects and initiatives set the direction and the scope of diabetes education, and we lead the community by developing evidence-based guidelines, offering sound educational programs and promoting outcomes-driven care.
Integrity
AADE adheres to the highest ethical principles and shares a commitment to excellence in our work and our external relationships. We respect our members and the individuals they serve, and we demonstrate that through our actions, values and methods.
Diversity
AADE is committed to cultural and professional diversity. We are an inclusive and collaborative organization, and we strive to meet the needs of our diverse members and their patient populations.
Innovation
AADE embraces innovation and strategic thinking. We value and promote creativity and flexibility when approaching projects, meeting challenges and overcoming barriers.
Customer Service
AADE strives to consistently deliver high-quality service and support for our members and other stakeholders. We place the needs of the diabetes educator at the center of our products, programs and activities”.
Membership
Benefits Of Membership
- One of the main advantages of membership with the American Association of Diabetes Educators is that you will have access to many professional development opportunities. This is because the AADE offers continuing education opportunities in all areas of diabetes and chronic care management as well as several standard-setting publications for healthcare professionals interacting with diabetes patients. Being a member of the association gains you access to these services at a significant discount.
- The association also works tirelessly towards achieving advocacy for its members and ensuring the reimbursement is fair. The advocacy staff work with policymakers, regulatory staff and third-party payers at the national and state levels to ensure that recognition for diabetes educators is achieved, reimbursement is equitable and patient access is strengthened.
- As this is the association that sets the guidelines, competencies, curricula and position statements of the diabetes industry, it is easy to see that belonging to this group will increase your standing in professional practice. The American Association of Diabetes Educators also manages the advanced level diabetes management credential (BC-ADM) and accredits diabetes education programs.
- The AADE aims to ensure that all of the research it performs serves the industry and therefore it members in a meaningful way.
- All AADE members receive its three flagship publications, including The Diabetes Educator journal, which is a bi-monthly, peer-reviewed clinical publication, AADE in Practice, which is a quarterly, practice-focused publication, and eFYI, which is a monthly e-newsletter.
- One of the main advantages that you will have as a member of the organization is the fact that it works tirelessly to promote awareness of the important role of diabetes educators and to ensure that information regarding the illness is spread far and wide.
- ADDE members also have access to special events, including the AADE Annual Meeting and Exhibition which is held each August and which consists of thousands of diabetes educators from around the world gather to network with their colleagues and expand their knowledge and skills, regional meetings that offer networking opportunities and educational programming, and access to National Diabetes Education Week which is celebrated every year during the first full week of November and promotes public awareness of diabetes educators and the key role they play in diabetes care.
Scholarships And Awards
There are a number of recognitions awards and scholarships awarded each and every year. To begin with, here is the list of recognition awards on offer form the association:
- Living Legend Award
- Allene Van Son Distinguished Service Award
- Diabetes Educator of the Year Award -Sponsored by LifeScan, Inc
- My AADE Network Achievement Award -Sponsored by BD
- Innovation in Practice Award – Sponsored by Bayer Corporation
- Advocacy Award – Sponsored by Novo Nordisk, Inc
- Rising Star Award – Sponsored by Roche Diagnostics
- Innovative Use of Media and Technology Award – Sponsored by dLife
A sad truth is that many individuals who would make excellent diabetes educators are not able to achieve this career gal because they are financially unable to pay for the tuition fees involved. Organizations such as the American Association of Diabetes Educators offer financial aid in the form of scholarships to students in need and to students who have simply outperformed their classmates. Below are the scholarships that you stand in line to win through the association:
- Annual Meeting Scholarship
- New Member/Educator Registration Scholarship
- Registration Scholarship
- Travel Scholarship – Sponsored by Sage Publications
- Pharmacy Student Scholarship – Sponsored by Diabetes Health Pharmacist
- AADE Foundation Plant-Based Diet Scholarship – Sponsored by Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
- Utah Diabetes Educator Scholarship
If you would like more information about each of these awards as well as about what you are required to do in order to earn them, please visit www.diabeteseducator.org.
It is interesting to note that there are also a number of research grants offered by the association that you may wish to take advantage of if you are a diabetes educator with an interest in further research in the area. These grants are:
- The Sigma Theta Tau International/AADE Foundation Grant for 2013
- The Advanced Practice Research Opportunity 2012
- Other research grant opportunities
For more information about these grants, please visit www.diabeteseducator.org.
Careers At AADE
Working for the American Association of Diabetes Educators is a real option when you consider that the association posts information about any openings it has on its website. This information can be found at this website; and you can apply for any positions that catch your eye by using the following details:
AADE
Attn: Human Resources
200 W. Madison St. Suite 800
Chicago, IL 60606
Email: HR@aadenet.org
There are several benefits involved in working for the American Association of Diabetes Educators. For one thing you will receive competitive base pay from this employer. You will also receive a 401k Retirement Plan package when you leave the association and you will also have access to a number of Professional Development Plans.
There are also a number of schemes in place to ensure your health and protection. These are as follows:
- Medical Insurance: You can choose between an HMO and PPO option through BlueCross/Blue Shield
- Dental Insurance: You will have access to PPO dental insurance
- Vision Insurance
- Life/AD&D Insurance
- Short-term Disability Insurance
- Long-term Disability Insurance
- Flexible Spending Accounts
The American Association of Diabetes Educators is focused on ensuring that your personal and work lives are well balanced. As a result you will initially accrue at least two weeks’ vacation annually, and receive 10 paid holidays per year. You can also accrue 10 personal or sick days per year, and have access to the Pre-tax Commuter Benefit Program and Employee Assistance Plan (EAP).
The two main additional benefits listed are:
- Casual dress on Fridays
- Convenient Chicago Loop location
Making yourself more marketable and improving your career opportunities and job skills are excellent reasons for joining the American Association of Diabetes Educators. In addition you may even be able to rise to a role of leadership within the organization, which in turn will stand you in good stead the next time you look for a job in this particular subfield of the healthcare industry. Belonging to this group also allows you to have wider access to information regarding new jobs as well as to educational opportunities that you will not find anywhere else.
To find out more about the American Association of Diabetes Educators, please use the information presented below:
Member Services: membership@aadenet.org
Communications: communications@aadenet.org
Educational Content Development: contentdevelopment@aadenet.org
Education Programs: education@aadenet.org
Finance: finance@aadenet.org
Foundation: foundation@aadenet.org
Marketing: marketing@aadenet.org
Policy and Advocacy: advocacy@aadenet.org
Research: scienceandpractice@aadenet.org
Technical Assistance: webmaster@aadenet.org
For general inquiries, please email aade@aadenet.org or call (800) 338-3633.
Mailing Address:
American Association of Diabetes Educators
200 W. Madison Street, Suite 800
Chicago, IL 60606
