The pharmacist as SC facilitator
It is now well recognised that patients with chronic diseases must
know how to handle their situation and that the long-term outcomes
very much depend on how successful they are in their endeavour.
The group setting promotes learning through peer help and gives
emotional support to participants. Facilitators should be trained to
promote learning and be able to handle conflict that might arise
out of group discussions. For some it can be hard in the beginning
to abstain from lecturing and let the group do the work and it is
therefore imperative that some knowledge of group dynamics is
present. In SC for diabetes, specially trained pharmacists can act as
facilitators and teach patients how to self-monitor glucose, interpret
the results and act upon them.13
The patients can join a study circle for one year and the goal is that
they should learn to normalise their blood glucose values and have
the opportunity to discuss psychological reactions following the
diagnosis. This can be achieved with 10–12 sessions of three hours
each held at your pharmacy. During these sessions participants
should discuss:
• self monitoring of glucose
• how to interpret the results
• how to act upon the results
• personal implications of diabetes
• advice on physical training
• foot care and eye controls as warning signs when a visit to a
physician is due both by participants to one another and by the
group leaders1