Advancing quality diabetes education through evidence and innovation.

Patients with type 2 diabetes crowd emergency rooms; fill medical, surgical, and cardiac beds; and now appear in maternal health and pediatric units. Education is critical in hospital care of diabetes; however, what level of knowledge exists among acute care nurses? A systematic approach was used to examine levels of nursing knowledge about diabetes. An innovative and cost-effective structure was created to improve the quality of patient care through supporting diabetes education.