Feb 12, 2011 Posted by Kev in My BS (blood sugar)

Medtronic Insulin Pump Pre-Class Online Courses – First Impression

Today I began my at home self-study in preparation for my Medtronic Revel Insulin Pump training class on Tuesday.  I had been emailing the instructor, Ellen, throughout the week to set up a location (she recommended the local library, which is only about 15 minutes from our home).  On Wednesday, the day that my Medtronic Revel Insulin Pump and Continuous Glucose Monitoring System arrived via UPS, Ellen emailed me the instructions for how to log on to the myLearning part of Medtronic’s web site.  I am supposed to complete several online classes before our one-on-one training class on Tuesday.  I followed the instructions in her email and went to the site where I entered my log on/registration information so that I could begin my online courses.

The instructions in Ellen’s email told me to enter my information (name, zip, phone number, date of birth) so that Medtronic would be able to locate my account on file and allow me to register.  Eager to begin, I entered my information.  This was the screen that followed:

I called Medtronic’s support number shown on the screen, but I was informed by an automated voice that help representatives for the online myHome section (which includes myLearning) are only available Monday – Friday, 9AM – 8PM EST. It should be noted however, that technical support for the actual insulin pumps, sensors and pump supplies is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Unfortunately, with regard to myLearning, it was 5pm on a Saturday.  I tried emailing the local instructor/rep, Ellen.  It’s now after 11PM and she has yet to respond.

What’s nice about Medtronic is that thankfully my problems registering with myLearning weren’t that big of a deal.  I quickly discovered that the disc entitled “Instructional CD-ROM” that came with the Revel Insulin Pump contained the same self-study courses that are available through the web.  I simply put the disc into my computer, selected the corresponding course that Ellen’s instructions said to take online, and I began.  Problem averted. I also have Ellen’s phone number and the phone number of another Medtronic rep, Carlo, who demoed the pump for me earlier this week.

The disc told me to begin by first completing The Basics of Insulin Pump Therapy workbook (pictured left) and the Step-By-Step Guide.  I started with the workbook, which consumed the rest of my Saturday.  I found myself impressed with the material.  It’s actually only a book with a few basic review questions and exercises at the end of each section, but the sections themselves provide a great overview of both type 1 diabetes and insulin pump therapy, without getting into the specifics of pump operation.  Diagrams aid in the workbook’s review of how both glucose and insulin work in the human body.  The topics, which also include descriptions of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), are presented in a simple enough way that even most younger diabetics and non-diabetic family members will be able to easily understand.

Basically, when someone asks you, “Why do you need that insulin pump and what does it do?” Medtronic’s Basic’s of Insulin Pump Therapy is a great book to give them.

2 Responses to “Medtronic Insulin Pump Pre-Class Online Courses – First Impression”

1. Kev says:

   Feb 15, 2011 at 8:27 pm

   UPDATE: Ellen emailed me back early Monday morning. She said that she called other reps to find out why I might have registration problems with Medtronic’s myLearning section of the web site. She offered no new solution and basically just copied what the original instructions she had sent as a PDF already told me to do in case of log on problems (try typing “Robert” instead of “Bob” if you have multiple names and if that doesn’t work, call the help number).

   I called the helpline for myLearning, since it was now business hours, and the support tech told me that they didn’t have my email address in their system and that’s why registering wasn’t working. I gave her my email address and she said that it would take up to 24 hours. Aside from the delay, it was odd that they didn’t already have my email address in the system since at least 2 of the 3 people from Medtronic who I was in touch with had my email.

   Reply
2. Elizabeth Taylor Ogletree says:

   Aug 20, 2015 at 4:08 am

   My son is Type1 diabetes and I need to refresh my mind on cob.counting, correct factor, taking blood sugar and insulin pump. He has been in the hospital and has been there now 3-4 months now and I need to learn everything all over.

   Reply