First, let me congratulate you on yet another patient-centered edition. The June 2022 article No Filters: Assessing Physician Communication When Discussing Conservative Management of Kidney Failure by Drs. Corona and Koncicki (1) is timely, well researched, and to the point. It should become a “must read” for the entire nephrology community, especially those treating patients with advanced CKD [chronic kidney disease] and ESKD [end stage kidney disease].
Palliative care and conservative management have always seemed to be an “afterthought” or consigned to “other options” instead of being as vital a consideration as any of the forms of kidney replacement therapy. In ANNA's [American Nephrology Nurses Association's] recent publication of nine modules, Nursing Care of the Patient with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in ANY Setting (2), palliative care is the focus of the 8th module.
As the overall title states, these modules were designed to educate health care providers who care for our patients outside of the nephrology specialty. We have heard these modules are helpful for direct patient education, especially for those patients and families making decisions about long-term care.
To that end, ANNA has made these available at no cost to ANNA members, all health care providers, and the public on its website (annanurse.org/ckdmodules) and also on YouTube (annanurse.org/ckdvideos). Since publication, the most recent data show a total of 7923 viewings. Of the 1859 YouTube viewings, 37% have seen the palliative care module.
Your article indicates that there is an unmet need regarding palliative and end-of-life care for the patient with ESKD, and the viewings of this single module seem to point in that direction. The existence and accessibility of these ANNA modules can help advance patient-centered care in nephrology.
References
- 1.↑
Corona AGD, Koncicki HM. No filters: Assessing physician communication when discussing conservative management of kidney failure. Kidney News, June 2022; 14(6):14. https://www.asn-online.org/publications/kidneynews/archives/2022/KN_2022_06_jun.pdf
- 2.↑
American Nephrology Nurses Association. Nursing Care of the Patient with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in ANY Setting. March 2021. https://annanurse.org/resources/cne-opportunities/education-modules