Approved for 4 clock hours by Commission on Case Manager Certification from 1/1/07 to 12/31/08.

The purpose of this course is to provide nurses with the principles of insulin dosage adjustment in order to increase their general understanding of insulin therapy.
Descriptions and examples will illustrate the prospective and retrospective approaches, rationale for carbohydrate counting, and practical guidelines for using insulin analogs: lispro (Humalog), aspart (NovoLog), Glulisine (Apidra), Glargine (Lantus), and Detemir (Levemir).

After studying the information presented here, you will be able to:

1. Define three common problems with blood glucose that occur at night.
2. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of the insulin pump.
3. Explain five general guidelines for adjusting insulin dosage.
4. Discuss the difference between the retrospective and the prospective approaches for adjusting insulin.
5. Describe three components of the prospective approach for adjusting insulin.