Open Forum

Hey all- Clinical Educator here. I am working on upcoming competencies for Diabetic Foot Exams. How many areas of the foot do you perform/teach to perform the monofilament test? I keep finding conflicting information, anywhere from 5-9 places on the bottom of the foot. I feel like I have looked everywhere; from Lippincott Procedures to the American Diabetes Assoc. Thanks!

Hi Casey, 

In my current job, I was taught and I'm required to test 12 different sites (3- dorsal, 9-plantar). See the photo below:

I recently did a DM foot exam training for our MAs and also ran into this issue. I did a lit review and then ran my findings by our medical leadership team. We ended up deciding on 6 total sites, shown below:

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Ashley Martin, MPH, RN, BSN
Manager of Nursing Services
Lower Lights Christian Health Center
Columbus, OH
ashley.martin@llchc.org
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Our competency has 12 points on it. This was pulled from UpToDate (cannot link due to copyright). If UpToDate is a tool your organization has access to, the content is under "Foot evaluation in people with diabetes mellitus". 

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Andrea Kelly MSN RN NE-BC NPD-BC
Director, Education and Professional Development
ECU Health Physicians
Greenville NC
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