Doctors believe continual upskilling is crucial for diabetes management: survey

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How important is continual upskilling when it comes to diabetes management, in a country where an estimated 10.13 crore people have diabetes? The answer, finds a survey of diabetologists and endocrinologists, is – very important: 90% of the 3,000 doctors surveyed, emphasised its significance, according to a press release.

The survey, by edtech company Medvarsity, was conducted from November 4 to 10 and had doctors from 87 Indian cities and towns responding, from across approximately 900 hospitals.

Released to commemorate World Diabetes Day, which falls on November 14, it also found that 75% of participants in the survey chose clinical case discussions and peer reviews as their preferred method for professional development.

What is the top priority when it comes to enhancing expertise? The prevention of diabetes itself and the management of its complications falls in this category, with 82% of those surveyed wanting to learn more in these areas. Advanced insulin management was another area where a significant number of doctors were keen to skill-up.

However, the challenge to upskilling remains one that all doctors struggle with: time constraints. This emerged as the most common barrier, with 65% of respondents reporting that they had time constraints, followed by 60% indicating the cost of programmes and 58% stating that there were difficulties in balancing their personal and professional lives.

Interestingly, many of the surveyed doctors were interested in Artificial Intelligence (AI) training, wanting to learn how to use automated insulin dose calculators, continuous glucose monitoring systems and diabetic retinopathy screening tools. Anticipated uses of AI applications were in early detection and diagnosis of diabetes complications as well as in personalised treatment plans

Gerald Jaideep, CEO of Medvarsity, was quoted in the press release as saying that the survey revealed that healthcare professionals were actively seeking to master new tools when it came to the convergence of AI technology and clinical expertise.