Clinical nurse specialists are appropriate healthcare providers for coordinating care across a variety of settings based on their skills in education and counseling. Increasingly, healthcare providers are forming partnerships with clients in which both provider and client collect information and discuss choices. This collaborative approach is a hallmark of the CNS diabetes educator. As the number of clients with diabetes increases, the need for experts in the field increases. The goal of management of the chronic illness diabetes is self-care. Orem’s self-care deficit theory directs the CNS diabetes educator in the guidance of a client through the process of self-management (self-care) of diabetes. The use of standardized nursing language, NANDA, NIC, and NOC, facilitates and enhances communication among nurses and assists in standardizing knowledge for nursing practice.