Nephrology-VAMC

Catalog description

This face-to-face rotation offers 3 or 6 credit hours, providing students with increased autonomy in patient care and opportunities to demonstrate competency in essential professional activities. Students will be exposed to a wide spectrum of renal diseases at various stages, including management of fluid, electrolyte, and acid-base disturbances, as well as hypertension. Each student will be assigned individual patients to follow throughout the rotation, gaining experience in managing complex clinical cases. Students will participate in evaluating patients with acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease, fluid, electrolyte, and acid-base problems alongside attending nephrologists, reviewing the underlying pathophysiology on a clinical basis. Additionally, the rotation includes observing patients undergoing continuous and intermittent hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and renal transplantation. They will perform comprehensive medical assessments before presenting cases and may engage in ongoing research studies. Each student will prepare and deliver a seminar presentation on an assigned topic, enhancing their understanding of the pathophysiology and management of these complex disorders. Daily conferences and rounds are conducted by nephrology staff, featuring journal club discussions, biopsy conferences, physiology seminars, and general nephrology case conferences. Outpatient experience is provided through weekly renal clinics. The rotation aims to deepen students’ clinical reasoning, evaluation, and management skills in nephrology and related fluid/ electrolyte and acid- base disturbances.This is a face to face clinical rotation receiving 3 or 6 credit hours. The student should function with increased autonomy in patient care and must demonstrate competency in several of the Entrustable Professional Activities required for graduation. The student will be exposed to a wide variety of renal diseases of varying stages of severity. Individual patients will be assigned for each student to follow during the rotation. Experience in managing patients with fluid and electrolyte problems, acid-base problems and various aspects of hypertension also will be provided. The student will have the opportunity to observe patients receiving hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and who have had renal transplantation. Daily conferences and rounds will be conducted by the nephrology staff. Regular conferences include journal club, biopsy conference, physiology seminar and general nephrology conferences (case orientation). Outpatient experience will include weekly renal clinic.