Assessment of Pediatric Kidney Transplant Experience and Exposure During Pediatric Nephrology Fellowship Training

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Elizabeth Spiwak, Peyton Manning Children's Hospital; Sharon M. Bartosh, University of Wisconsin Medical School; Jodi Smith, University of Washington School of Medicine; Michael E. Seifert, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Sandra Amaral, University of Pennsylvania; Roshan P George, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2023-06-08
• Publisher: Wilters Kluwer Health Inc.
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2023 The Author(s).
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): https://doi.org/10.34067%2FKID.0000000000000177
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Kidney 360
• Volume: 4
• Issue: 8
• Start Page: 1139
• End Page: 1142
• Grant/Funding Information: None.
• Keywords: pediatric nephrology; pediatric kidney transplantation; children; kidney transplantation
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, General

Abstract

In 2017, the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network and the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) updated the requirements to serve as the primary transplant physician for Pediatric Kidney Transplant Programs. One of the pathways to fulfill the requirements relies on experience gained during completion of a pediatric nephrology fellowship (Table ​(Table11).1 Pediatric nephrology fellowship programs are 3 years in length, with a minimum of 12 months dedicated to research and scholarly activities (33%).2 According to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, there are 48 accredited programs for Pediatric Nephrology Fellowship for the academic year 2022–2023.3 Adult nephrology 2-year fellowships offer a third dedicated additional year of postgraduate training for those interested in achieving expertise in kidney transplant. No such additional transplant-specific training opportunities are available for pediatric nephrology fellows who already train for 3 years. In 2009, a self-perceived competency evaluation demonstrated that recent adult fellowship trainees felt well-trained and competent in caring for kidney transplant patients, including the performance of kidney transplant biopsies.4 There is no similar published literature of recent graduates of pediatric nephrology fellowships. Given the lack of a core transplantation curriculum in fellowship training and lower kidney transplant volumes in children, it is unclear how many pediatric nephrology fellows perceive that they obtain the minimum experience required to qualify as a primary pediatric kidney transplant physician. We conducted a survey of pediatric nephrology fellows to examine current transplant-specific training.