Background: With the rising prevalence of diabetes, the use of insulin in hospitalised patients has increased. Our previous study revealed that the majority of nursing staff had insufficient knowledge in relation to the use of commonly used insulins.

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of an education program and Insulin Smart Card in improving insulin knowledge and competency amongst clinicians working at the Kingston Centre, a rehabilitation hospital in the South East of Melbourne.

Method: An education program comprising 7 workshops was designed to cover topics including insulin action, safe administration, glucose monitoring as well as inpatient management of Type 1 and 2 diabetes. A multiple choice questionnaire was administered to medical, nursing and pharmacy staff before and after completion of the education program. The education program was complemented by an Insulin smart card, a quick reference guide to available insulins.

Results: One hundred and fifteen clinicians participated in the program. Ninety five questionnaires were successfully completed, 10 by medical, 75 by nursing and 10 by pharmacy staff. All participants failed to demonstrate complete knowledge in the pre-test questionnaire (refer to Table 1). Statistically significant improvements were seen in all groups after the education program. With a maximum score of 20/20, pharmacists achieved the highest total scores in the pre and post-test questionnaires (mean pre 13.3+/- 2.7 vs post 19.9 +/- 0.21 respectively). Nursing staff ranked lowest in both questionnaires (mean pre 9.2+/-3.2 vs mean post 18.7+/-1.1). Surprisingly, half of the medical officers failed their pre-test questionnaires. All demonstrated improved scores after the education program (refer to Table 1 and 2).

Conclusion: Implementation of an education program, complemented by an Insulin Smart Card was successful in improving health professionals’ knowledge of insulin therapy and diabetes management. Such education programs could be trialled in other rehabilitation facilities as well as in the acute setting to improve the inpatient management of diabetes.