What is a diabetes educator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Maureen Chiodini-Rinaldo

A diabetes educator specializes in helping people with diabetes manage their condition. They provide education on healthy lifestyle choices, blood sugar monitoring, insulin administration, and general diabetes management. Diabetes educators also develop personalized care plans and offer guidance on nutrition, exercise, and medication. Additionally, they may assist with problem-solving, emotional support, and advocacy for patients. Overall, diabetes educators help individuals with diabetes lead healthier lives and manage their condition effectively.

What general advice would you give to a diabetes educator?

Maureen Chiodini-Rinaldo

Assistant Professor of Instruction, University of South Florida

God gave you two ears and one mouth. Listen twice as much as you talk. Remain open-minded and stay in touch with your mentors. We should always be learning. Find your path and your niche by doing what makes you happy. Don't chase the money. If you are happy and doing what you love and are passionate about, the money will come.

ScoreDiabetes EducatorUS Average

Salary

4.7

Avg. Salary $60,588

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.7

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.26%

Asian 6.79%

Black or African American 9.98%

Hispanic or Latino 16.56%

Unknown 6.41%

White 59.00%

Gender

female 91.08%

male 8.92%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Stress level

7.7

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.6

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

9.1

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a diabetes educator?

Pros

Work in a growing field with job security
Flexibility in work schedule and location
Collaborative work environment with healthcare team
Ability to specialize in a certain type of diabetes or patient population
Opportunity to conduct research and contribute to the field

Cons

Dealing with emotional, difficult or uncooperative patients
Long hours and high workload during peak seasons
Challenging communication with patients who have language barriers or limited health literacy
Limited autonomy in decision-making as part of healthcare team
Potential burnout from emotionally intensive work

Key steps to become a diabetes educator

Explore diabetes educator education requirements

Most common diabetes educator degrees

Bachelor's

58.2 %

Master's

17.2 %

Associate

15.8 %

Start to develop specific diabetes educator skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	30.60%
CDE	9.60%
Patient Care	9.36%
Diabetes Self-Management Education	6.84%
Patient Education	6.48%

Complete relevant diabetes educator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New diabetes educators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a diabetes educator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real diabetes educator resumes.

Research diabetes educator duties and responsibilities

Used motivational interviewing techniques to engage participants and achieve enrollment into program.
Develop, plan implement diabetes education self-management program for diabetics.
Instruct classes and one-to-one consultations to provide patients with basic, intermediate, advance and gestational diabetes information.
Educate patients on dietary management including carbohydrate counting, label reading, meal planning and information regarding dietary fats.

Prepare your diabetes educator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your diabetes educator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a diabetes educator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable diabetes educator resume templates

Build a professional diabetes educator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your diabetes educator resume.