60-year-old nurse wins Aster Guardians Global Nursing award for extensive work on diabetes

British nurse Margaret Helen Shepherd has touched many lives over her career, including a 43-year-old woman who was able to get off insulin injections she was taking since she was six months old and a teenager who has a better future because he got the right treatment.

Both of the above patients had a very rare condition called monogenic diabetes – which is hard to diagnose and seldom requires insulin treatment.

Her focus on this rare condition helped 60-year-old Shepherd bag the prestigious annual Aster Guardians Global Nursing award on Friday. Having spent most of her career dedicated to improving diabetes care, Margaret beat stiff competition from nine other finalists to be announced the winner at an event held at Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London to coincide with International Nurses Day on Friday, May 13.

Focusing on the rare monogenic diabetes, Margaret – who is currently the Lead Research Nurse at Royal Devon University Hospital – is one of the most experienced nurses for this condition in the UK and provides advice to clinicians across the world regarding how to manage it.

In 2002, she set up a national network of genetic diabetes nurses to increase awareness of this condition after realizing that 80 per cent of the cases are misdiagnosed, resulting in patients being treated with unnecessary insulin injections.

“I am completely in shock,” she said speaking to Khaleej Times via video conferencing, soon after the awards were announced. “I loved the stories of all the nurses, and I wasn’t really expecting to win. I am thankful for the honour, and I think it is a fantastic opportunity to further spread awareness about monogenic diabetes and the importance of the right kind of genetic testing.”

Touching lives

According to Margaret, the story of a 43-year-old woman who was diagnosed with diabetes as a six-month-old struck a chord with her. “She had been taking insulin for 43 years,” she said. “But her doctor attended one of our talks and advised her to get genetically tested. It showed that she had monogenic diabetes. She was able to switch from insulin to a tablet-based treatment which allowed her body to manufacture its own insulin.”

This switch created a ripple effect in her life, improving several diabetes related complications. “She was able to lose weight for the first time in her life,” said Margaret. “Most importantly, she ran a transport business and it had been her dream to drive a heavy good vehicle. It wasn’t possible because she was on insulin. After the switch, she got her license and was able to realize her dream. I feel honoured to have played a small part in that.”

Another 16-year-old teenager was potentially going to fail school after being diagnosed with diabetes. “He started taking insulin injections and started having trouble concentrating,” she said.

“He was having dangerously low blood glucose level. His mother got in touch with us and upon testing, we found that he had a genetic issue. We switched him to a tablet-based treatment.”

The boy passed his A levels with flying colours and was able to get into the college of his choice. “It was such a rewarding moment for me,” said Margaret.

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