Speaker: Virtual home dialysis physician mentorship is feasible, needed
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Virtual home dialysis physician mentorship programs are feasible and needed to improve confidence and expertise, according to a speaker at the virtual Annual Dialysis Conference.
“There are a few existing pathways to establish mentorship, and there is limited exposure in fellowship to really become an expert in home dialysis,” Christopher T. Chan, MD, the director of the division of nephrology at University Health Network in Canada, said in a presentation. “I had the privilege of working with satellite health care to start and test out the utility of [the] virtual physician mentorship program, based on the principles of Project ECHO, to increase home dialysis knowledge and uptake.”
Project ECHO is a virtual mentorship program designed to improve home dialysis knowledge and uptake, he said. The biweekly sessions include pre-readings, special speakers and discussion-oriented lectures aimed at increasing a physician’s knowledge and assuredness around home dialysis.
Chan and colleagues tested the program with 40 physicians at various stages of training, asking participants how confident they were with the processes of peritoneal dialysis and home hemodialysis. Participants responded with low to moderate confidence prior to education. Following the program, an exit survey revealed a significant increase in overall confidence.
According to Chan, an additional survey showed 88% of participants preferred virtual education settings to in-person settings.
Chan concluded, “I'm hopeful that you will agree that the virtual home dialysis physician mentorship was feasible, and that the majority of our participants perceived the program to be worthwhile, and it changed the perspective of participants in prescribing home dialysis.”
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Chan CT. Home dialysis Project ECHO program. Presented at: Annual Dialysis Conference; March 4-7, 2022 (virtual meeting).
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