After more than 30 years of nursing service, including the last 21 with UW pediatric diabetes clinics, Beth Van Den Langenberg, MS, CPNP, APNP, senior nurse practitioner in the Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes, will step away from her patients and duties. Van Den Langenberg will take early retirement this month due to medical issues. “I love my work — with patients and families and our extraordinary team at the UW pediatric diabetes clinic,” she said. “If I could, I’d go on working there for another 20 years.”
Van Den Langenberg’s desire to be a nurse started early. She admired a friend of her family who was a nurse practitioner and decided she wanted to be like her. Her initial nursing education was in Green Bay. She followed her husband to Madison when he was hired for a state job, where she practiced in the UW pediatric intensive care unit and then the sedation clinic. There she met many nurse practitioners, and she decided that it was a path she should follow. Van Den Langenberg went back to school, and as soon as she graduated, “It was like serendipity,” she said. “I ran into a colleague who was part of the endocrine service. She said the pediatric diabetes service was looking for a nurse practitioner. I applied and they offered the position to me. It was like fate. I’ve been there ever since.”
At the UW pediatrics diabetes clinics, Van Den Langenberg has worked with her team with patients and their families to problem-solve the issues that a new diagnosis presents. The clinics address all diabetes types, as well as a small number of cystic fibrosis-related cases. Van Den Langenberg’s focus has been on managing type 1 diabetes. She thinks about the obstacles that may prevent someone from staying on a successful pathway, figures it out together with patient and family, and offers ideas. “We have a fabulous diabetes team,” she explained, “and we each have roles that we play along that patient pathway. I really enjoy the teaching and coaching.”
Becoming an expert in the evolving technologies — from continuous blood glucose monitoring to insulin pumps — that allow diabetes patients to live more normal lives is something Van Den Langenberg is known for. Her colleagues recognize her as the ideal combination of a perceptive and compassionate clinician and a fount of deep technological knowledge — with the added ability to explain it to patients.
“I have said to my colleagues,” she recounted, “that I feel like when I go to work, it’s not really work. I’m going to play with my friends for the day, and my friends include my patients. It’s not work: it’s something much more enjoyable.”
Van Den Langenberg retired on January 5, 2024, and will focus on spending more time with her husband, grown children, and two grandchildren. An avid gardener, she looks forward to spring and nurturing her garden.
Appreciation for Beth Van Den Langenberg
In her absence, Van Den Langenberg’s colleagues have offered their unqualified appreciation.
From Ellen Connor, MD, professor, Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes
“Beth was a sort of trailblazer in the diabetes clinic because at the time the Department of Pediatrics wasn’t really using nurse practitioners very often. She was our first NP and completely changed things, including inpatient teaching and starting an evening clinic for older kids after school. I think she’s a person who works great as part of a team but can really be the leader with some aspects of our division’s work.
“We would get worried that we couldn’t do everything for everybody. There were psychosocial things that we couldn’t fix for the kids. She brought in her ‘magic wand’ that lit up and was all glittery and would wave the magic wand during times that got really stressful.”
From Tracy Bekx, MD, associate professor, Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes, and director of the pediatric diabetes program
“Beth is very innovative and creative and thinks outside the box. Her willingness to lead our team and keep up with rapidly evolving diabetes technology has been extraordinary. And whenever we’re faced with an issue, she will stop and think outside the box for a solution.
“As Beth is stepping away from clinical practice, I am just so impressed with her desire and willingness to give us and her patients what she knows everyone will need. She’d say, ‘Here are some resources and here are things you’re going to need to onboard the new person.’ The letter she composed for families was full of such grace and hope, it was so beautiful. And we all cried when we read it. There was a lot of care and compassion in that letter and it shows so well who she is.”
From Betsy Roe, pediatric nurse practitioner, Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes
“Beth is just hilarious. And I think that’s what most people would say. She is great at learning how you can use humor to break down barriers, make people comfortable while also being professional doing your job, doing everything that you need to do. Humor can break people’s hesitations down — so they may be willing to listen. I have worked with Beth in many capacities since about 2009, and she has been an enormous positive influence for me in every aspect of my career.”
Whitney Beaton, clinical nurse specialist for pediatric diabetes, Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes
“Her ability to be an expert nurse and understand what nurses can do was very important for me and the team. It shaped the vision for the nursing positions on our team.
“One of the most important things she taught me was how to think about things. Creating a plan for a patient isn’t about it being perfect, which in diabetes is so difficult. But if we can get them to do one thing, set reasonable, achievable goals for kids and families, then we can make some progress. If we can make their lives better, then that’s our goal.”
You can read additional appreciation and praise that Beth Van Den Langenberg’s colleagues offered during the interviews and background research for this article.
Photo by Bob Gordon/Department of Pediatrics