Annual reviews and first appointments - A guide for junior Doctors,trainee DSNs and other HCPs

To state the ridiculously obvious - Type 1 diabetes is not always very easy to live with.

The relentless requirement to monitor, juggle and account for a hundred-and-one variables (food, doses, exercise, weather, stress, hormones... you know the drill) while trying to live a relatively normal life day to day can be quite a frustrating business.

It is a great comfort to know then, that we have a number of ferociously clever and wonderfully kindly professionals that we can regularly visit who are dedicated to supporting us in our daily battles with the big D. Most of us will only get a precious few hours a year to receive this input, so it's important that we can make it count.

A month or so ago someone who I consider to be quite a good friend (which is odd really since our contact has only ever been of the remote and electronic variety) shared an experience of an appointment with a young and perky Registrar which, from what I can gather didn't work out too well. I think it's fair to say that my friend has now - some weeks later - just about managed to come down from apoplectic-teeth-grinding rage into the significantly calmer strangers-crossing-the-street-to-avoid-thunderously-angry-expression.

This got me thinking about what it is that we long-term pancreas-impersonators (or newly diagnosed for that matter) might hope for out of our precious appointments. If you've not done many D clinics before (or even if you've been running them for years!), here's what I would hope you would bring to the party:

Hello
First impressions count. I've met a lot of HCPs for first-time appointments and you would be surprised how many don't introduce themselves. It's a busy clinic, I realise I may never see you again, but it would be nice to know who you are.

Please, please, please just take a moment before I come in to skim read my file. If you are checking that information is up to date then be a bit careful of how you ask those questions. "So... you have type 1 diabetes?" might seem innocent enough, but some people you will be seeing might have been living with their condition for longer than you've been alive - so it's not really a question that needs to be asked. T1D isn't really something that's going to go away. Know my type. Know how long ago I was diagnosed. Know what direction (if any) my HbA1cs have been moving recently and what insulin(s) I am using. If you are checking records for accuracy and up-to-dateness, tell me that you are checking. Otherwise I'll think you are an idiot.

It isn't your fault
This is slightly unfair, but I'm afraid there's nothing to be done about that. You have no way of knowing what sort of horrendous appointments I have endured in the past (I haven't actually, but many have). The last thing we both want is for the steel shutters to come down behind my eyes and for me to descend into 'smile-and-nod' grunting, just waiting to leave - that will do neither of us any good. Here are a few of the states-of-mind in which I have arrived at appointments over the years:

• I have identified a problem or issue and I have no idea what to do about it. I'm hoping for suggestions.
• I have identified a problem or issue and I am working on it. Your suggestions might be something I've already tried and found not to work.
• I have identified a problem or issue and I think there's a gadget/change of insulin that might help.
• I know things have been going OK recently and just want my results, thanks.
• I know my results are a mess and hope I'm not going to get some kind of telling off. Don't you understand how impossibly difficult this is to do day to day?
• I'm past caring, nothing I am doing seems to make any difference and previous clinic suggestions have just made it worse - I would ask about psychological support, but what's the point?
• I don't have time for this and want it to be over as soon as possible.

You will need to develop a forensic, interview technique to glean from my merest eyebrow twitch which of those states-of-mind I am in. Alternatively - you could just come right out and ask me at the start - there's a thought. Ask open questions, be interested in the answers. Diabetes is not always textbook, you may know a lot about diabetes that I don't, but I'm the one muddling along with my diabetes 24 hours a day. As we say in the DOC - Your Diabetes May Vary. Most often I'm not expecting you (or even wanting you) to give me definitive answers, but rather to suggest strategies, principles or techniques that I can try out. And be asked about what sort of level of support and follow-up I want.

Not a number
I am not my numbers. I am not my A1c, my high this day, my low that day. These are information, but they don't define me and certainly don't necessarily represent the amount of effort I am putting in. Ask me what I'm aiming for, and why. If you think my A1c is too high or (too low) don't say anything until you've found out what I think about it. Ideally you've already picked up some story-so-far clues from my file (see 'Hello'). There is always ALWAYS something to improve. I want us to work together to make my numbers just a little bit better by the time my next appointment comes around, but I don't need telling off. Ever.

Questions, questions
Questions are your friend - I know you know this already, but it is worth restating nonetheless. Ask me what I am looking for. Find out what I am already doing (or considering starting) to try to reach my goals. That way you'll be in a better position to give me some really helpful pointers. You'll realise, of course that I may have come in with my guard up. You might have to tease the truth out of me, but asking the right questions will make us feel like more of a team - that you are on my side. Be especially careful if I have brought in any information, charts, print-outs and so on - you would be astonished how often these carefully prepared sheets are simply brushed aside. Pay them attention - ask me if there's anything I've spotted that needs looking into. If you spot what you think is a pattern, ask me whether I think it is significant and if not, why not. Sometimes type 1 diabetes is just random and frustrating, but a fresh pair of eyes and a healthy discussion about tactics and options can be just the thing to open up a new line of experimentation. Think of yourself as a top-flight Premiership football coach. Talk to me about strategy, technique and tactics rather than how far to kick the ball.

Never assume I know something
You may be up to speed with all the latest diabetes management techniques and fully immersed in decades of diabetes research. As a long-in-the-tooth patient, you would be forgiven for believing that with all my years of experience I am bound to have come across all this knowledge already. Carb counting... basal testing... dawn phenomenon... difficult foods... correction and insulin:carbohydrate ratios... I may know about these, but ask a carefully phrased question to assess my current approach to challenging day-to-day management situations in order to fill in any blanks I may have in technique and understanding. Once again the questions are crucial - otherwise we are into dangerous chicken-ovulation-inhalation territory.

Never assume I know nothing
Obvious really. But few things will sour our fledgling relationship quicker than you assuming that I have no idea what I'm doing. You never know... I might be one of those people who has read many of the academic research papers that are freely available online these days. I might have spent time keeping up with developments in technology, treatment and even the minutiae of NHS funding options because this stuff really matters to me. I may even have some interesting opinions - it won't hurt to ask.

Never assume. Anything.
That's your 2 second 'lift test' right there. If this is the only bit of this post that you remember, then we'll get along fine.

What about anyone else? Any hints and tips for HCPs for the perfect first appointment? As ever, comments welcome below.