Great Start to New Year!

Last week we held our first AADE board of directors meeting for 2014 in Miami, FL where I was officially sworn in as President-elect. I am going to take the opportunity this year to learn from the individuals who precede me!

We started the meeting with a special all day orientation for new board members. Although I have only been off the board for one year, it was important for me to hear updates and changes that have occurred since I left.  I think the new board members really appreciated the detail of the orientation and feel prepared to do their work for the organization. I am really looking forward to working with them and learning from their different backgrounds and experience.

We also had a great team building activity at a South Beach restaurant roof top overlooking the beach. We were led by two chefs and were taught how to make 2 items: a shrimp dish and a deviled egg dish using a “secret ingredient” of our choice.  The chef’s judged the teams by not only taste but also food presentation.  I am happy to say I was on the winning team! I, however, am not a cook, and I was perfectly happy to let those with the appropriate skills lead the way while I stepped back and chopped parsley. 

The committee meetings were on Friday and the Board of Directors meeting on Saturday.

There are 4 committees that do the work of the board: Planning and Development, Stakeholders Members Relations, Performance, Oversight and Monitoring, and Governance committees. This year I sit on both Planning and Development and Governance.

The Planning and Development committee’s main role is to plan and oversee the strategic planning process to position AADE to effectively face issues in the healthcare environment and the world. The committee also leads the board in planning the annual budget for both operational and strategic initiatives. I am excited for 2015 when I am President as we will be planning and developing AADEs next 3 year strategic plan to be implemented starting in 2016.  This is an important time of change in healthcare so one of the first key steps that will happen later this year is to perform an Environmental Scan. The scan helps to identify key issues and trends facing the association, diabetes self-management education, healthcare and diabetes educators in order to incorporate these important issues into the strategic planning process. AADE hires a team that specializes in this process to help us gather and analyze data.  In addition the board of director’s role is to keep abreast of key issues and to bring them to the meetings for discussion. Once the plan has been designed, vetted and developed, then all of AADEs focus, initiatives and resources revolve around implementing that plan.  The present strategic plan can be downloaded here:  https://www.diabeteseducator.org/About/Governance/plan.html

The strategic plan is grounded in the organizations mission and vision:

AADE Mission: Empower healthcare professionals with the knowledge and skills to deliver exceptional diabetes education, management and support
AADE Vision: Optimal health and wellness for all people with diabetes and related chronic conditions

As we go through the year I will highlight some of the work that AADE is doing to implement our strategic plan and prepare for the next cycle. Maybe you can be involved in the strategic planning process?  AADE is seeking new leaders to join the Board of Directors with passion and vision to support AADE and diabetes educators and to serve our members and diabetes community. Applications can be found on the website here. https://www.diabeteseducator.org/Members/Elections.html

I have learned so much through my AADE service and look forward to learning more!

Have a great day!

 Deb