Nursing Care of the Biostator Patient

The majority of patients placed on the Biostator are either brittle Type I diabetics, pregnant diabetics, or pre- pump patients. Nursing care is coupled with an interdisci plinary team approach in order to assist the patient to bal ance nutrition, exercise, and insulin requirements. Biosta tor patients are involved in an extensive diabetes education program that includes individual instruction as well as group activities. This article provides information on how diabetes patient education can be enhanced through knowledge gained from the Biostator run. Nursing care is comprehensive and complex. Although the Biostator is supervised by an endocrinologist, various procedures are performed by specially trained nurses such as set-up of the instrument, connecting the patient to the Biostator, calibrat ing the instrument, and programming the computer. The responsibilities of the monitor nurses, including drift checks, documentation, and trouble-shooting, are described in de tail. Since exercise and diet are major components of thera py for Biostator patients, the dietitian and physical therapist work closely with the monitor nurse in simulating the pa tient's normal daily activity. It has been our experience that caring for the Biostator patient involves comprehensive fol low-up. This article describes various components neces sary to accomplish this objective.