NN&I - July 2010
58 Nephrology News & Issues July 2010www.nephronline.comConference Preview For the fifth year in a row, the Renal Physicians Association is hosting the Advanced Practitioner Conference, jointly sponsored by the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine in collaboration with the American Academy of Nephrology Physician Assistants. The conference is a chance for nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) to inter-act with each other, learn new concepts and ideas to increase their value to their practices, and share pearls of wisdom. From a small start in Kansas City, Mo. in 2005, the RPA Advanced Practitioner Conference now attracts more than 150 PAs and NPs working in nephrology and/or internal medicine practices. This year's meeting will be held July 21-23 in St. Louis. The program is designed to address the unique needs of the advanced practitioner while never forgetting that 'hall-way consults' and one-on-one interactions are often the best way to learn and grow. Conference plenary sessions and interactive workshops are targeted to both the expe-rienced and newer advanced practitioner. Acknowledging that PAs work in all sites of service to care for kidney patients (hospital, office, and dialysis facility), the confer-ence offers lectures that pertain to each of these settings. For the PA who practices in the dialysis facility, some of the featured lectures include:The top five problems in the dialysis unit \037 Metabolic bone disease \037 ESA use after the TREAT, CHOIR and CREATE studies \037The program also includes a discussion on vascular access monitoring. If you practice in an office, you should attend lectures on how to slow CKD progression, how to improve outcomes in the CKD population, how to manage and treat diabe-tes, and how to read a urinalysis. If you are hospital-based, learn how to decrease mortality in the ICU, learn about the pathology of the glomerular disease, and listen to an overview of acid/base disorders. There are lectures for the transplant PA, for the PA struggling with resistant hyper-tension in their patients, and for those who want a health policy update. Other important topics will include review of the bun-dled payment system and how this will affect all renal professionals. A recent National Kidney Foundation survey of advanced practitioner salaries and benefits will be pre- sented along with a much needed seminar on billing and coding, especially in light of the numerous changes that became effective in January 2010. Nurse practitioners, physician assistants meet in St. LouisBy Kim Zuber, PA-C Ms. Zuber is the vice president of the American Academy of Nephrology Physician Assistants. The ConferenceRPA Advanced Practitioner ConferenceJuly 21-23 St. Louis Marriott St. Louis For more information or to register, go to www.renalmd.org. CalendarAugust 35th Annual Meeting North American Transplant Coordinators Association Aug. 1-4 Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa natco-info@goamp.com www.natco1.org Kidney Golf Classic National Kidney Foundation of Michigan Barton Hills Country Club www.nkfm.org American Association of Diabetes Educators 37th Annual Meeting San Antonio, Texas www.diabeteseducator.org National Convention on PKD Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina www.pkdcure.org/nationalconvention Photo courtesy St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission Conference Prev_NNI0710_3.indd 58 6/17/10 9:21:08 AM
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