A systems approach to capillary blood glucose monitoring. A joint nursing/patient education effort

Capillary blood glucose monitoring was successfully instituted on the nursing units at a small community hospital using a systematic, goal-directed process. Through the efforts of the diabetes educator and the coordinator of nursing education, nursing staff are now able to detect fluctuations in patient blood glucose levels rapidly and to provide prompt treatment. The system was implemented on the nursing units with preceptors serving as instructor-trainers. The implementation required the close cooperation and collaboration of multiple hospital departments. The nurse educator and the diabetes educator conduct ongoing monitoring using data collected from the patient, the nurse, and the multidisciplinary team.