BC-ADM Certification Exam Prep Course Modules

medical professionals
Module 1: Foundations of Diabetes

In this 2-topic module, you’ll build the clinical foundation needed to understand, classify, and prevent diabetes — aligned with the ADA Standards of Care 2026 and the AACE 2026 algorithm, reflecting today’s standard of care.

You’ll cover the full picture of how diabetes develops and how to catch it early: what’s really driving the global rise in diabetes, how to classify it accurately so the right patients get the right treatment, and the biological forces — beyond lifestyle alone — that shape individual risk. You’ll also explore the evidence behind today’s most effective diabetes prevention strategies and learn how to build a practical, personalized approach for patients at increased risk.

Presented by
Elena A. Christofides, MD, FACE

In this 9-topic module, you’ll learn how to confidently diagnose, evaluate, and monitor diabetes in the outpatient setting — from initial diagnosis all the way through long-term complication prevention. Everything is grounded in the ADA Standards of Care 2026, so you can trust that what you’re learning aligns with today’s standard of care.

You’ll cover the foundations of outpatient diabetes care: how to accurately diagnose and classify diabetes, as well as, how to individualize glycemic goals for different patient populations. You’ll also explore some of the more nuanced clinical concepts — including a deep dive into a commonly overlooked hormonal cause of difficult-to-control type 2 diabetes (hypercortisolism), and how to structure your visits so nothing important falls through the cracks. The module wraps up with practical frameworks for preventive care and comorbidity screening, so your patients get the individualized comprehensive care they deserve.

Presented by
Natalie Bellini, DNP, FNP, BC-ADM, CDCES
Katelyn O’Brien, PharmD, BCPS, CDCES, BC-ADM
Diana Isaacs, PharmD, BCACP, CDCES, BC-ADM, FADCES, FCCP
Rifka Schulman-Rosenbaum, MD, FACE, FACP
Janice MacLeod, MA, RDN, CDCES, FADCES

In this 10-topic module, you’ll learn how to harness the power of lifestyle and nutrition to transform outcomes for people living with diabetes — from everyday eating decisions to the emotional realities of living with a chronic condition.

You’ll explore the impact of lifestyle factors on diabetes: how nutrition, physical activity, and other daily habits shape diabetes risk and glycemic management, and how to translate that science into practical guidance your patients can use. You’ll also dig into diabetes remission and the growing evidence around what’s truly possible through intensive lifestyle change, and how to navigate the nutrition questions patients ask most.

Beyond the clinical strategies, this module addresses the human side of diabetes — recognizing and responding to diabetes distress and the emotional weight of managing a lifelong condition, the cultural context that shapes how people eat, and the surprising difference the right words can make in every patient encounter.

Presented by
Rachel Stahl Salzman, MS, RDN, CDN, CDCES
Matthew Arnold, PharmD, BCACP, BC-ADM
Sonia Bahroo, MMS, PA-C
Susan Guzman, PhD
Elena A Christofides, MD, FACE

In this 11-topic module, you’ll build a comprehensive, practical understanding of diabetes medications — from the most commonly prescribed oral agents all the way through advanced insulin management. This module aligns directly with the ADA Standards of Care 2026, ensuring the approaches you learn match latest guideline recommendations.

You’ll develop a thorough understanding of each major drug class: how it works, what side effects to anticipate and how to trouble shoot them, how to individualize treatment selection based on unique patient characteristics and situations, and how to use them safely and effectively across a wide range of clinical situations. You’ll build confidence in insulin management through in depth discussion of the various types of insulin and regimens, as well as, how to start, adjust, and troubleshoot insulin therapy. The module also covers more complex clinical concepts you’ll encounter in practice: emerging treatment options (GLP-1 and SGLT2i use in type 1 diabetes, inhaled insulin, and more), managing medications around illness and procedures, and recognizing the atypical forms of diabetes that require a different diagnostic and treatment approach altogether.

Presented by
Katelyn O’Brien, PharmD, BCPS, CDCES, BC-ADM
Diana Isaacs, PharmD, BCACP, CDCES, BC-ADM, FADCES, FCCP
Devin Steenkamp, MD
Rifka Schulman-Rosenbaum, MD, FACE, FACP

In this 8-topic module, you’ll go beyond glycemic management, learning how to recognize and manage the interrelated conditions that drive cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic risk in people with diabetes.

You’ll build a clear framework for understanding how cardiometabolic risk compounds over time (CKM Syndrome staging), how to accurately quantify your patients’ cardiovascular risk using PREVENT risk scoring, and how to select diabetes medications with proven cardiovascular benefits.

You’ll also explore some of the more complex concepts that separate adequate diabetes care from truly comprehensive cardiometabolic care — including two commonly underrecognized conditions that silently worsen glucose control and cardiovascular risk, and what the latest evidence says about treating them. You’ll further cover how to individualize obesity and weight management strategies for type 2 diabetes prevention and treatment, as well as guideline-driven approaches to hypertension and lipid management.

Presented by
Christie Schumacher, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP, BCCP, BC-ADM, CDCES, FCCP
Katelyn O’Brien, PharmD, BCPS, CDCES, BC-ADM
Diana Isaacs, PharmD, BCACP, CDCES, BC-ADM, FADCES, FCCP

In this 5-topic module, you’ll learn how to recognize, prevent, and manage the complications that most commonly affect people living with diabetes — both macrovascular and microvascular.

You’ll cover the full spectrum of diabetes related complications: how diabetes effects the heart, eyes, kidneys, and nervous system; how to screen for it systematically; and how to intervene early with the right treatments at the right time. You’ll also explore some of the more nuanced clinical topics — including the autonomic complications that are frequently missed, and how to make the most of the newer drug classes that now carry proven benefits beyond glucose lowering.

Presented by
Lucia Novak, MSN, ANP-BC, BC-ADM
Christie Schumacher, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP, BCCP, BC-ADM, CDCES, FCCP

In this 11-topic module, you’ll learn how to confidently manage diabetes across the entire hospital stay — from acute admission through safe transition back to outpatient care. Everything is grounded in the latest ADA Standards of Care & inpatient management guidelines.

You’ll cover many topics critical to inpatient diabetes management: how to recognize and manage major hyperglycemic (DKA & HHS) and hypoglycemic emergencies, how to set appropriate glucose targets for hospitalized patients, and how to build and adjust insulin regimens with confidence. You’ll also explore more nuanced clinical topics — including how to safely convert between insulin products on any hospital formulary, how to handle the complex scenarios that drive most inpatient consults, and how to think through diabetes technology like insulin pumps and CGM in the hospital setting. The module wraps up with practical frameworks for transitions of care, so your patients leave the hospital set up for success rather than readmission.

Presented by
Rifka Schulman-Rosenbaum, MD, FACE, FACP

In this 10-topic module, you’ll learn how to make diabetes technology a meaningful and practical part of your care — from continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) to the rapidly expanding landscape of insulin delivery.

You’ll start by establishing the clinical case for why CGM matters, then build the hands-on skills to use it with confidence: how CGM works, what the data tells you, and how to implement it efficiently in your practice. You’ll also cover how to addresses common situations unique to CGM use — overcoming technology access barriers for underserved patients and translating complex glucose patterns into clear, actionable treatment decisions.

From there, you’ll learn how to navigate the rapidly expanding landscape of insulin delivery technology and apply it confidently in practice — from the foundations of pump therapy to the automated insulin delivery (AID) systems now transforming day-to-day glucose management, to the troubleshooting of device malfunctions and therapy disruptions.

Throughout the module, real-world clinical cases bring the concepts together, so you can see exactly how to apply these skills with your own patients.

Presented by
Diana Isaacs, PharmD, BCACP, CDCES, BC-ADM, FADCES, FCCP
Katelyn O’Brien, PharmD, BCPS, CDCES, BC-ADM

Good diabetes care doesn’t look the same for every patient; this module moves beyond the standard clinical framework to explore how diabetes management must be adapted across different stages of life and for patients whose circumstances add complexity to care.

You’ll learn how social and environmental factors shape health outcomes and what that means for how you educate, communicate, and connect patients to support. You’ll explore the unique challenges of caring for patients with barriers to understanding or engaging with their care, and how to meet them where they are. The module also addresses populations whose clinical needs are often underrepresented in standard training — including people with disabilities, pregnant individuals, and children and adolescents — with practical, guideline-informed approaches for each.

Presented by
Janice MacLeod, MA, RDN, CDCES, FADCES
Natalie Bellini, DNP, FNP, BC-ADM, CDCES
Diana Isaacs, PharmD, BCACP, CDCES, BC-ADM, FADCES, FCCP
Julia Blanchette, PhD, RN, BC-ADM, CDCES, FADCES

In this module, you’ll put everything from the course into practice. Across a series of case simulations, you’ll apply your knowledge and skills to a range of practical clinical scenarios — working through the complex, multifactorial situations you’ll encounter in everyday diabetes care.

Developed & edited by:
Matt Arnold, PharmD, BCACP, BC-ADM in collaboration with the entire DCA faculty; drawing from their individual expertise.

In this 4-topic module, you’ll explore three of the most important — and fastest-moving — forces shaping diabetes care today: the human side of living with diabetes, the evolution of how care is delivered, and the explosion of technology transforming what’s possible.

You’ll start by exploring the stigma that surrounds diabetes and the impact it has on patient engagement and outcomes. From there, you’ll examine how care delivery itself is changing — and what that means for the patients you serve. The module then turns to the technology reshaping the field, including a practical look at artificial intelligence and the growing landscape of digital health tools, giving you the knowledge to evaluate and integrate them into care with confidence.

Presented by
Susan Guzman, PhD
Janice MacLeod, MA, RDN, CDCES, FADCES
Rachel Stahl Salzman, MS, RDN, CDN, CDCES

In this 2-topic module, you’ll learn how to deliver high-quality diabetes care that connects the individual patient visit to the bigger picture of population health. You’ll explore how to run a comprehensive diabetes visit that accounts for the whole patient — not just the numbers, but the social and psychosocial factors that shape real-world outcomes — and how to structure your visits so nothing important falls through the cracks.

From there, you’ll step back to see how diabetes care fits into the shift toward value-based and population health models, and what it takes to improve outcomes across a whole panel of patients rather than one visit at a time.

The module is built around tools you can put to work right away, with templates and practical frameworks drawn from clinical practice.

Presented by
Sonia Bahroo, MMS, PA-C
Matthew Arnold, PharmD, BCACP, BC-ADM

In this module, you’ll cover additional topics that often appear on the BC-ADM exam that are not covered elsewhere in the course curriculum.  You’ll learn the systems-level skills that help diabetes care professionals run programs that are effective, compliant, and grounded in evidence. You’ll explore the most widely used quality improvement frameworks in healthcare and learn how to apply them to real-world diabetes program challenges.

You’ll also get a clear picture of the regulatory and accreditation landscape that governs diabetes education programs — including what compliance looks like in day-to-day practice and why accreditation is a critical step for any diabetes self-management education program. The module wraps up by enhancing your research literacy, giving you the skills to critically appraise the literature and translate it into patient care.

Presented by
Matt Arnold, PharmD, BCACP, BC-ADM
Christie Schumacher, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP, BCCP, BC-ADM, CDCES, FCCP