General Information
National Kidney Foundation Continuing Medical Education Program Mission Statement
The mission of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) Continuing Medical Education Program is to provide education for academics as well as private practitioners in nephrology and related disciplines. These educational activities are offered to regional, national and international audiences.
Purpose:
To provide all members of the kidney healthcare community with current, state of the art science information on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of kidney and urinary tract diseases in order to improve the care of individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and those at risk for developing it.
Content Area:
Topics are selected based on physician gaps in knowledge regarding the care and treatment of individuals with kidney disease. KDOQI evidence based guidelines and the latest peer-reviewed clinical science provide the foundation for developing much of the content as well as professional interests, expert opinions, literature reviews and needs assessment data from patients and caregivers that identify gaps in quality of care relative to physician implementation of the science.
Target Audiences:
Program is for practicing physicians, residents, and fellows in nephrology, internal medicine, cardiology, endocrinology, family practice, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and other specialties who care for individuals who are at increased risk for, or affected by, CKD.
Types of Activities:
Live activities include conferences, symposia, courses, hands-on workshops, audience response sessions, and debates. Enduring materials include monographs, videotapes, CD-ROM, web-based, PDA/Pocket PC software and audiotape. Adult learning principles and critical thinking strategies are incorporated into all educational activities by ensuring that participants are given an opportunity to explore new applications and/or strategies.
Expected Results:
Enhance physician practice patterns in order to maximize the quality of care given to patients and improve patient outcomes. This will be accomplished by providing comprehensive educational activities that are current, derived from evidence-based practice guidelines and expert opinion. Activities offer a variety of learning formats to meet the diverse needs of our participants. Results will be evidenced by post-testing as well as reviewing responses from activity evaluations that ask if participants plan to make any changes in their practice as a result of this activity and to identify these changes. After our annual Spring Clinical Meetings, participants will be sent additional web-based evaluation questions, which include if they are willing to provide contact information for follow-up. Telephone surveys will then be conducted three to six months following an activity with those who have agreed.