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NKF Spring Clinical Meetings offers a well-balanced, multidisciplinary program
The NKF’s annual Spring Clinical Meetings offers a blend of topics and specialty-related tracks that will be of interest to all disciplines.
“The program committee and the NKF staff have put together an outstanding program for this year’s Spring Clinical Meetings that will not only explore topics that are the cornerstone of nephrology practice, but will also provide state–of-the-art presentations of areas that are of growing importance to all those who work in the field,” Harold Szerlip, MD, chair of this year’s program, told Nephrology News & Issues.
The program for this year’s Spring Clinical Meetings (SCM19) will include a presentation on the long-awaited Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (KDOQI) guidelines for vascular access.
“As we are well aware, vascular access is the lifeline for all hemodialysis patients. The ability to involve the patient in the decision for vascular access, choose the proper access, evaluate the access using both physical examination and Doppler ultrasound, understand the complications that may occur and what intervention are helpful are of paramount importance to the care of the renal patient,” Szerlip said.
From technical aspects of dialysis care to discussion about modality options, including conservative care, the SCM19 offers topics that cross over to all disciplines. Nephrologist Robert Cohen, MD, will chair a program on the topic.
“Kidney disease is a life-altering disorder that is not only extremely stressful, but is a treatment that is not always easily tolerated,” said Szerlip. “We can no longer just tell patients that their kidneys have failed and they will need dialysis. Patients need to understand their options and what lies ahead. In this workshop, Dr. Cohen will teach the participants effective communication strategies so that they can more easily discuss treatment options.”
Risk of opioids in kidney care
A session on monitoring opioid use among patients with CKD and transplant patients has applicability for all disciplines. The session, “Opioid stewardship in CKD and transplant patients: An overlooked problem?” is important for attendees.
“Renal disease is often associated with other painful comorbidities and the nephrologist is often limited in treatment options because of the effects that analgesics have on renal function and the effects that kidney disease has on drug metabolism,” Szerlip said. “It is important clinicians be able to provide appropriate pain management and develop a stewardship pain program that minimizes opioid use in our patients.”
Nursing program highlights
An important theme of the SCM19 Nephrology Nurse and Technician Program is increasing family engagement with patients.
“I spent a significant portion of my career working in pediatric nephrology, where the entire family was involved in the care of the ill child,” Marianne Neumann, RN, CNN, FNKF, chair of the program, said. “This was clearly necessary but also added to the outcome for that child. Why would we, in the adult world, think anything less was expected for our patients? The support of the family adds to the team’s success in educating and providing quality care for our patients.”
Another important session, “Improving the overall perception of safety in the hemodialysis unit,” will debate whether clinics are safe and what key issues make that challenging. “Although dialysis unit safety is important to the patient, it is the staff of the clinic that need to make it a reality,” said Neumann. “We are utilizing cameras in multiple areas of the clinics to be able to observe our patients pre- and post-treatment, to see that no unwanted individuals are in our clinics and to monitor lesser-occupied areas. The staff is being trained on how to respond to dangerous situations and how to safely handle patient removal from the clinic.”
Mineral and bone metabolism guidelines
In a session held during the Dietitian Program, Alison Steiber, MD, will review the recommendations for evaluation, prevention and treatment of CKD-mineral and bone metabolism disorder, as well as the updated KDOQI nutrition guidelines.
“Key topics will be dietary phosphorus recommendations and sources and PTH management and the use of appropriate medication therapies,” Beth Morlang, RD, LD, FNKF, who heads the nutrition program for SCM19, said. “We’ll also be looking at the recommendations for micronutrients, macronutrients and electrolytes in CKD, recommendations for the assessment of [protein energy wasting] PEW, and use of anthropometrics and lab values in evaluating nutritional status,” she said.
Management of depression
In the Social Worker Program, chaired by Jennifer McClain, MSW, LSW, NSW-C, FNKF, attendees will hear about how best to treat depression in patients with ESRD. Likewise, a special session on the four mantras should be of interest, speaker Gary Petingola, MSW, RSW, said. The four mantras are aimed at helping staff and patients enhance patient health care and professional wellbeing.
“The four mantras are teachings of Thích Nhât Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist-author and poet,” Petingola told Nephrology News & Issues. “They essentially highlight the importance of true presence and the gift this brings to both practitioner and patient. The patient has an opportunity to know that they are cared for beyond the jargon of our discipline expectations and professional practice guidelines.”
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- Mark E. Neumann is the editor-in-chief of Nephrology News & Issues.