The world around us. Asking for advice is a wonderful thing. At the touch of a finger you can seek a number of responses from novice to professional. Advice. Inquiry. Fact. You want it, you can find it right online.
But when it comes to education, do we need to move beyond the outreach of a ‘post’ on a FB page. Do we need to do more? When it comes to education, do we need to think that we are reaching the masses with our message merely by sharing with people on-line just in our community?
I think not.
A message must cross the eyes of the audience we seek at the exact moment we post it, or shortly there after, or the message comes and goes without reading; for the most part. If the message resonates with many, it gets shared and shared again; thus increasing the number of eyes that share in the messaging. Sort of a tough haul to rely on what works and what does not……yes?
Getting the message out. If it’s an important educational item, you must ask yourself who is seeing the message? Clearly it has been a pretty important priority of mine for people to understand the warning signs of diabetes, and specifically type 1 diabetes (T1D) of late. It has been a passion and I know that I am surely not alone.
But we MUST TAKE this battle outside the confines of the web pages or we will never be successful. People need to hear the message that they can download posters (www.getdiabetesright.org, is just one of many, the one Kim May and I created— and there are more) and use them to get the word out there…..have you delivered even one?
You can down load the letter created by the NASN (National Association of School Nurses) and bring it to your school nurse (and beyond) to warn others that THE flu/virus symptoms evident may just not be just that……have you passed out one? Click here to see it, print it out, and share it. NASN Document School Nurse Letter.
If we share, only to share with each other, the arrows turn inward; we need them to be outward. We need to reach out beyond our own community. We ‘get it’ already (we can only hope). But it’s those who are on our sports teams, in our schools, and in our communities that may not get it……we must get the word out to them. We must educate them.
This is my passion and that is nothing new; but this holds true for any passion you have also that relates to our diabetes world. When you ‘preach’ to those who know, stress without a shadow-of-doubt that you are ‘preaching’ to them to do more than merely read message…..but to pass the message on to others; and as best they can.
In community sites, community FB pages, school FB pages, other areas that do not have the word diabetes in it. Get to those sites with your message. Download a hundred posters and give them to the boy/girl scouts and or school groups to hang in a community.
It’s important to be in touch with each other, but when it comes to the education of things we already know, let’s work to reach those who do not. Talking amongst ourselves is usually a good thing…..but educating others is about as powerful-a-gesture as you can/will ever make. One person hears something they do not know, you-just-might-save-a-life. Take an action-step today…….it will make you feel good.
I am a DiabetesDad.
Please visit my Diabetes Dad FB Page and hit ‘like’.