What is the CDE Academy?
The CDE Academy exists to change lives – the lives of people with diabetes and associated cardiovascular risks, and the lives of the healthcare professionals who have a keen interest in empowering such people to self-manage their condition with confidence. The CDE Academy is run by experienced, dedicated, and passionate healthcare professionals who have a wealth of knowledge and insight in diabetes. We share this through a variety of platforms. For the healthcare professional, the CDE Academy offers CPD-Accredited Courses and the opportunity to join an Associate Membership following completion of the CDE Academy Online Foundation Course. We also offer webinars, journal clubs, quarterly literature reviews, as well as the CDE Postgraduate Forum, an annual state-of-the-art update. For the healthcare consumer, the CDE Academy offers educational booklets on diabetes care, social media guidance and reflections, as well as other educational resources and community outreach events.
Academy Courses
The CDE Academy offers a number of courses, which are growing year on year. The image below describes the diabetes learning journey offered by the CDE Academy.
You can start with the CDE Academy Online Foundation Course in Diabetes Care for Healthcare Professionals and then progress up to a Masters in Diabetes through the University of South Wales. Along the journey you can partake in the CDE Academy Postgraduate Forum, CDE Academy Online Journal Club, Webinars and subscribe to Quarterly Literature Updates.
Say goodbye to travel, locum fees, transport and accommodation costs – from the comfort of home or the workplace and at one’s own pace, health professionals can now access life- and practice-changing CDE Academy training anywhere in the world.
Participants can start at any time and interact with the Course material online, 24 hours a day, any day of the year.
The Course offers:
- 16 Modules facilitated by an experienced Faculty of clinical specialists
- An active-real-world-applicable learning experience at one’s own pace
- 30 contact hours - 30 Continuing Education Units (UP Activity Number: MDB005/024/01/2022).
- Insight and confidence in diabetes care that will set participants apart from their peers
Participants have 90 days in which to complete the Course - working at the recommended rate of two Modules per week will enable completion of all 16 Modules in 60 days, well within the stipulated 90-day period, but allowing sufficient margin for a busy week or two where one’s work rate may drop.
Importantly, while this Course provides a comprehensive overview of the foundational knowledge and insights needed to care for diabetes and its associated cardiovascular risks and is accredited for 30 continuing education points for HCPs, it is not a formal qualification. Thus, successful participation cannot be touted as such. It is the first step in a journey to mastery in the field.
For more information and to enrol in the Course, CLICK HERE.
This Membership opens access to our optional post-Foundation Course learning community, to CDE Academy event discounts and to the ‘CDE Academy Clinical Practice Toolbox’, a growing repository of practical and educational resources and information that will be relevant to you and your clients.
This exclusive Membership is only available to health professionals who have completed the CDE Academy Foundation Course in Diabetes Care for Health Professionals.
To enquire about purchasing this membership, contact
For those health professionals in whom we see real aptitude for diabetes care, we have partnered with the University of South Wales in Wales, UK to provide a Postgraduate Diploma in Diabetes care or even an MSc Degree in Diabetes.
This one-year Diploma is suitable for both Medical Practitioners and Allied Healthcare professionals. A second year of study may be undertaken to obtain an MSc in Diabetes. Members of the CDE Faculty perform a tutoring role for these courses.
Please see the Diploma-MSc Website (https://www.diploma-msc.com/p/diploma-in-diabetes) to obtain further information.
Historically, over the past 12 years, CDE has facilitated a limited number of part-sponsorships for successful applicants (LIMITED to registered health professionals who are working in South Africa and APPLICABLE TO THE SEPTEMBER INTAKE ONLY).
Unfortunately, due to our current challenging economic conditions, such financial support is, for the present, not possible.
However, if diabetes remains your passion, and you are able to self-fund your professional development with a Postgraduate qualification in diabetes, we encourage you to apply to the University of South Wales for the relevant course. It will help to change your life and clinical practice!
In case things change…
Once your application has been accepted by the University of South Wales, you are welcome to apply for financial assistance should this become available. Please email Shelley Harris at
Obesity is a prevalent, complex, progressive, and relapsing chronic disease, characterised by abnormal or excess adiposity, which impairs health. A VLCD Programme can form one of the possible tools for the management of obesity and its health consequences. A VLCD is intended to ‘kick-start’ a wellness journey and is intended to be a short-term approach.
In this Course we explore the advantages of a VLCD Programme and why this approach is often more successful in achieving and maintaining weight-loss in many individuals. We cover the benefits of using a VLCD Programme for various conditions and explore the inclusion and exclusion criteria, as well as situations when caution should be applied. An in-depth overview on how to implement the various phases of a VLCD Programme will then be covered, as well as the use of physical activity as part of a lifestyle intervention.
This course incorporates information from the latest guidelines in obesity management and aims to optimise the treatment of individuals with overweight / obesity. It offers various learning formats, from individual readings to recorded presentations, which can be watched at leisure. This Course also forms the foundation for future master classes on the use of VLCDs.
Each module consists of the following:
- A narrated video lesson with the accompanying script
- Pre- & post Module assessment
- Reflection activity on the Module learnings
- Case Study
- A written Module summary
A summative assessment concludes the course.
Participants are eligible for 23 CPD points upon completing the VLCD Course. The cost of the Course is ZAR 2300 (incl. VAT).
For more information and to enrol in the VLCD Course for Healthcare Professionals, CLICK HERE.
The CDE Academy Journal Club
A series of regular, real-time, online, CPD-Accredited Journal Clubs held on Tuesday evenings from 19h30 to 20h30. These live sessions are FREE, and registration is available one week prior to each session. In demonstrating our commitment to transforming medical education, the CDE Academy has refreshed the traditional ‘journal club’ format. Historically this learning opportunity was passive in the way knowledge was transmitted, and audience participation was usually limited.
To extract the best learning possible from this 60-minute session, we incorporate many elements grounded in contemporary adult educational practice. Rather than rely on the expertise of a single ‘sage on the stage’, you as the audience will be an active part of the learning experience. In the days before the session meet, we supply relevant review articles to help you prepare, and which will also provide a backdrop to the session discussion and reflections.
Click HERE for more information on these state-of-the-art sessions.
Recordings of these sessions are available for a nominal fee. If you miss the free interactive session, you can purchase the recordings HERE.
Webinars
The CDE offers various webinars to assist in upskilling healthcare professionals who manage people with diabetes and associated cardiovascular risks. The webinar recordings are available for a nominal fee. Click HERE to look at our available webinars and see if any of them spark your interest.
Nutrition Education Material
These will be uploaded as they are available and can be purchased at a nominal fee – either individually or as a bundled package.
To purchase the education material Click HERE
CDE Academy Diabetes Literature Review
from international research news and literature expertly compiled by endocrinologist, Prof Pankaj Joshi. Subscribe by completing the “Subscribe to our Quarterly CDE LITERATURE REVIEW” field at the bottom of any page on the CDE Academy Website (https://academy.cdeonline.co.za/)
To access previous literature reviews, click HERE.
Diabetes Guidelines
The CDE is a member of SEMDSA – The Society for Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes of South Africa www.semdsa.org.za
The SEMDSA guidelines for the management of Type 2 diabetes are based on international best-practice, and the CDE adopts these guidelines within their programmes of care.
