How a KIDNEYcon Workshop was Invented

KIDNEYcon brings dedicated nephrologists together to discuss recent healthcare advances and practice new procedures. John Arthur pioneered the idea of the conference three years ago and continues to look for new ideas to improve the event each year. So if you liked it a lot last year, expect it to be even better this year! 

Regarding the Kidney Biopsy Academy (KBA) workshop, the idea took roots and grew when multiple pieces of the puzzle addressing kidney biopsy came together. During one of John and I’s many conversations regarding the state of education in this area, I happened to mention a particular problem we kept seeing in practice. We were receiving multiple inadequate kidney biopsies and the rate of inadequacy varied from hospital to hospital. This made John think the issue had to do with training and the number of biopsies done by the people performing the procedure. The lack of available training in this area inspired us to teach the proper procedure, to as many physicians as possible.

The KBA is a classic example of John's vision for the conference, which is bringing ideas to fruition through multidisciplinary collaboration. I had seen lightly embalmed cadavers at UAMS during a teaching session in anatomy. Serendipity had it that I was also working with Stephen Bonsib and Pat Walker on designing a teaching model for the anatomy of accessing the kidney from the posterior side, which makes accessing the kidney easier for physicians doing biopsies. A team of physicians from multiple institutions worked together to plan and refine the KBA workshop curriculum: Kevin Phelan (UAMS) helped dissect the cadavers and managed the anatomy facility; Stephen (Arkana Labs) hand-drew the image of the body as we needed, as no such drawings were available for reference at that time; Manisha Singh (UAMS) developed the handouts; Nithin Karakala (UAMS) arranged the ultrasound machines; Diane Bricco (UAMS) incorporated interventional radiology; Vandana Niyyar (Emory) and Juan Carlos Velez (Ochsner Clinic) conducted the workshop and created evaluation tools; and Kelly Bulloch (UAMS) helped us coordinate everything.

The Kidney Biopsy workshop and KIDNEYcon give me an opportunity to interact with fellows, residents and anyone interested in learning more about the kidney. In 2018, KIDNEYcon will offer several new workshops, including one dedicated to Kidney Pathology. We look forward to seeing you April 6-7 in Little Rock. We promise your time here will be both educational and fun!

Shree Sharma, MD, FASN
KIDNEYcon Co-Director
Nephropathologist, Arkana Laboratories