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The special role of nursing in kidney care
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Caring for the individual with kidney disease is a team effort, and nephrology nurses have been a big part of the role since the first chronic dialysis unit opened in Seattle in 1962.
The role of nursing practice traces its roots back to 1860 with the opening of the Nightingale School of Nursing at St. Thomas Hospital in London.
“Created from donations collected by the English people to honor the work of Florence Nightingale in the Crimea, the Nightingale School was the first formal program to educate and train nurses,” Beth T. Ulrich, EdD, RN, FACHE, FAAN, wrote in the opening chapter of the recently released third edition of Contemporary Nephrology Nursing. Key to that effort, notes Ulrich, was the school’s founding principles that “included classes taught by both nurses and physicians, an apprentice model that required many hours in the clinical setting, and a 360-degree evaluation in which students evaluated teachers as well as teachers evaluating students.”
In renal care, nurses work collaboratively with nephrologists to develop patient care plans, but must make decisions each day in the dialysis clinic that impact patient outcomes. With a greater focus now on using surveys to gauge patient satisfaction, Nightingale’s basic principles of a team approach still make sense when treating a chronic illness like ESRD.
“Nephrology nursing today involves reliance on extensive knowledge bases,” Anita E. Molzahn, PhD, RN, FCAHS, wrote in the forward for Contemporary Nephrology Nursing. “People with CKD experience some of the most significant and complex challenges in the health care system.”
To honor the dedicated nurses who care for patients with kidney disease, the American Nephrology Nurses Association has designated September 9-15 as Nephrology Nurses Week.
“This special week spotlights the commitment and dedication that nephrology nurses display every day on behalf of their patients,” ANNA notes on its website. – by Mark E. Neumann
American Nephrology Nurse Association awards top honors
The highest honor from the American Nephrology Nurse Association is the Outstanding Contribution to ANNA Award. The recipient this year was Sandra Bodin, MA, RN, CNN, case manager/hepatitis C nurse advocate for Fresenius Kidney Care in Lake City, Minnesota. Bodin has been an ANNA member for 25 years, serving in volunteer and leadership roles at the local, regional and national levels. She led ANNA as national president from 2007 to 2008, and served as editor of Contemporary Nephrology Nursing, 3rd Edition, which was published in 2017.
The Ron Brady Memorial Award for Excellence in Volunteer Leadership was given to Angela Kurosaka, DNP, RN, CNN, CMM, NEA-BC. Kurosaka is senior vice president of medical management for Centene Corporation in Columbiana, Alabama. The award recognizes an ANNA member who has demonstrated outstanding volunteer leadership in contributing to ANNA’s mission and vision.
Other awards distributed by ANNA include the following:
- Clinical Practice Award: Marlene Currier, BSN, RN, CNN;
- Nephrology Nurse Educator Award: Margaret Murray, MS, ARNP, BC, NP;
- Excellence in Nephrology Nursing Management Award: Vicky Siegel, BSN, RN, CCTC;
- Helen Feigenbaum Award for the Promotion of Excellence in Nephrology Nursing: Debra Hain, PhD, APRN, ANP-BC, GNP-BC, FAANP, FNKF;
- ANNA Board of Directors Awards: Debra Buffington, BS, RN, CNN, and Sara Kennedy, BS, RN, CNNe;
- Research Sharing Award: Lillian Pryor, MSN, RN, CNN; and
- Research Abstract Award: Charlotte Thomas-Hawkins, PhD, RN, CNN.
A full list of all recipients is available at www.annanurse.org in the “Clinical Practice” section.
- Reference:
- Bodin SM, Editor. Contemporary Nephrology Nursing. 3rd ed. American Nephrology Nurses Association; 2017.