Incorporating foot care education into diabetic foot screening

Rehabilitation nurses care for patients with diabetes who have strokes, orthopedic surgery, and spinal cord injuries; therefore, they should be knowledgeable about foot screening technique and foot care education so that they can identify patients who are at risk for foot skin breakdown. The objectives of diabetic foot screening are to identify foot problems, determine a foot risk category and management category for patients, and to instruct patients with diabetes and their families in proper foot care. The screening technique is simple and can be used in clinic settings or at the bedside. Incorporating foot care education into the foot screening process increases or reinforces patients' knowledge of self-care. Such knowledge empowers patients to join with their healthcare teams to decrease the incidence of ulceration and amputation.