The process of developing and validating national core competencies for diabetes educators

Abstract

The National Core Competencies for Diabetes Educators were developed on behalfof the Australian Diabetes Educators Association between July 1994 and November1995. This paper traces the development of the competencies including the rationalefor undertaking the project, the process involved and the measures taken to ensuretheir relevance and validity. The limitations of applying the competency concept tohealth professionals are discussed. The paper also explores issues affecting professionalbodies which attempt to define and document competencies and describes some of theobstacles which may be encountered during the process.