This study emphasizes the nursing professional as an important member of the Multiprofessional Health Team. That fact the care offered to the diabetic patient admitted to the Hospital Universitário Clementino Fraga Filho (HUCFF) is not standardized, has driven some hospital services to rethink the health assistance provides to the diabetic patients including the ambulatory care. Two questionaries have been applied to 44,5% of the nurses working in the in-patient units, in order to diagnose the present situation aiming at: a) screening for Ambulatory care, b) evaluation of the nursing team participation in the health care provided to diabetic patients admitted to the Hospital. Preliminary analysis of the data showed that the great majority of the nursing professional knows the value of the patient education regarding self-care. Those professionals have also shown great desire to improve their knowledge on this subject. It has been also detected that there is a lack of knowledge about the institucional resources available to patients and their families such as: self-help groups, nursing ambulatory consultation and standarlization of admission and dismissal procedures for the diabetic patient. This work is part of the Diabetes Educational, Control and Prevention Plan in the area 3.1 of Rio de Janeiro according to the National Diabetis Education and Control Program of the Ministry of Health