5 Questions with Barbara Odom, RN
Barbara Odom, RN, PHN, MED, is the first-ever recipient of the American Diabetes Wholesale Diabetes Educator of the Year award.

1. How did you become interested in diabetes care?
My interest in diabetes care is linked to my interest in nursing as a whole, and that goes back to my childhood when I was hospitalized for a week at the age of 4 with pneumonia and measles. The nurses and doctors were so nice to me, that after I was discharged, I told my grandmother that I wanted to be a nurse. I remember bits and pieces of my stay in the hospital, such as being carried around the ward by the nurses. I was the youngest patient on the ward at that time, so I got a lot of attention, and it made a very strong impression on me.

I carried that impression with me as I got older, and in high school, I was an active member of the Future Nurses Club and received my basic nursing training in the US Navy. There is a history of diabetes on both sides of my family, so diabetes has always been a major area of interest. The culmination of my becoming a public health nurse in charge of the diabetes clinic at the San Diego VA Medical Center and being one of the first 1,100 nurses in the country to be certified as a diabetes educator really underscored my mission to help with the fight against diabetes.

2. What do you think are some of the biggest obstacles facing diabetes patients today?
There are many obstacles, including high medical costs, insurance coverage that does not focus on prevention, the high costs of self-monitoring blood glucose test strips, medication, supplies, equipment, a special diet, lack of knowledge of available resources, and lack of education or patient lack of motivation to become educated about their disease.

For far too many years, health care providers did too much for their diabetic patients without explaining why. Inevitably, these patients became dependent and took medication "because the doctor said so" without understanding the what, why, and how. As educators, we are trying to train patients to take charge of their disease. Unfortunately, making this change is a long, hard process of changing habits and dispelling myths to an older population who are set in their ways.

3. How can health care professionals and family support patients with diabetes?
The best support health care providers, family, and friends can give is to be a good listener. Listen to what patient are saying or not saying and what they relate as their most immediate needs. Be supportive, assist them in setting realistic goals, treat the whole person, help them to prioritize their needs, exhibit a caring attitude, allow time, develop trust, be sincere, and make the people feel that they are number one at that moment in time.

4. Has there been a particular experience or patient that has made a lasting impression for you?
There have been many experiences and patients in my nursing career that have made a lasting impression. My experience with the health profession when I was a child molded me into becoming the same type of caring and supportive nurse that cared for me back then.

Also, working with some of the most outstanding groups of doctors and being the first diabetes educator for the San Diego VA Medical Center (SDVAMC) in the Endo/Metabolic Section, my experiences were many and rewarding. The SDVAMC was the first facility to conduct an implantable insulin type 2 study, where they implanted 22 patients. I was the diabetes educator to all of them and was able to follow them from the operating room to the recovery room and continue working with them as outpatients. Additionally, with the support of three bosses like Drs. Gerrold Olesky, Robert Henry, and Steve Edelman, I have not only enjoyed my work, but I have also obtained a vast amount of knowledge, and I was able to be a part of medical history.

5. What is the greatest challenge that you have faced in your career?
Obtaining my education has been my greatest challenge. In high school, I contacted hepatitis through improperly cleaned dental equipment and was in the hospital for 33 days. After that, I was home schooled for a year and fell behind. By going to summer school and carrying a full schedule during my junior and senior years, I was able to graduate with my classmates on time.

After high school, I joined the Navy to help out my mother, a single parent raising three children. I turned down a Naval Nurse Corp College Scholarship to get married, much to the dismay of my mother. I was married for 8 1/2 years and then went back to school after my divorce. This failed marriage forced me to become independent and even more determined to fulfill my goal of becoming a registered nurse. I completed my education while working full time to support myself and two small children and received no financial assistance throughout the entire process.

BONUS QUESTION 1. What do you consider your greatest career achievement?
I have experienced two great career achievements in my life. First, as a homemaker, I have successfully raised two sons who have gone on to lead happy, productive lives. Second, as a nurse, I have been able to touch many lives of patients and nursing students. I am also the Past President and a founding member of two professional chapters—The San Diego Black Nurses Association, Inc. and The San Diego Association of Diabetes Educators. I chaired and completed the process for VA Nurses to become a specialty practice group in the American Association of Diabetes Educators. I also acted as Host Chairperson for AADE 2000 Educational Meeting, a large education meeting in California.

Networking with so many wonderful nurses in San Diego and all over the country and the many patients and families whose lives I have touched by seeing the improvement in their health is my greatest achievement.

BONUS QUESTION 2. What is something people would be surprised to learn about you?
Most people would be surprised to know that I had an interest in drama and modeling. In high school, I performed in a small play at Wayne State University, and while in nursing school, I was chosen to perform in a play that, unfortunately, never made it to the stage. Additionally, while in undergraduate nursing school, I was offered a paid position as a model for a major department store; I declined, however, as nursing school and family were my main focus at the time.