Nurses

SDC employs 38 nurses. Of these, 15 are specialist diabetes nurses, 4 of whom are also clinical nurse specialists. One clinical nurse specialist in diabetic eye diseases and two trainees staff the eye clinic. Three nurses work in the IT- department, and two project nurses are involved in research projects. The remaining nurses work on the outpatient ward and in the outpatient clinic, the type 2 clinic and in the diabetes unit at Rigshospitalet. The head nurse and two ward nurses are responsible for clinical leadership.

Work area
The specialist diabetes nurses hold individual consultations with patients in the outpatient clinic and work together with the other practitioners on the diabetes care teams. The nurses work on a rotational basis between the outpatient ward and the outpatient clinic. The diabetes unit at Rigshospitalet has a fulltime specialist diabetes nurse. The nurses share the staffing of Steno Diabetes Cetner’s 24-hour telephone service.

Work placement and experience
Steno Diabetes Center offers work placement and experience for student nurses in their 6th and 7th semester at the Radiograph and Nursing School in Herlev. The head nurse is a supervisor for degree students from the Copenhagen Hospital Corporation (H:S) nursing programme and is also an external examiner for other nursing education programmes.

Courses and further education
Nurses in Steno Diabetes Center have the opportunity of receiving further education to qualify as a specialist diabetes nurse, or as a clinical nurse specialist in diabetes or in diabetic eye diseases. Courses are held both internally and externally, at one of Copenhagen County’s training centres, or in other organisations for diabetes specialist nurses.

Meetings and other activities
Nursing meetings are held once a month on Thursday afternoons. Two theme afternoons are arranged annually.