ISN Educational Ambassador in Asia
Hands-on interventional nephrology workshop benefits kidney care for patients in Vietnam.
SN Educational Ambassador Jan Swinnen from Westmead Hospital, Sydney, Australia shared his expertise with doctors and nurses at Cho Ray Hospital (CRH) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. This was a valuable onsite training that is set to change how local doctors and nurses will carry out their interventional procedures.
Dr Swinnen explains: “I do believe that the local medical professionals can achieve 80% of what we achieve in Australia in terms of hemodialysis outcomes at a small fraction of the cost, by adapting hemodialysis access systems to the local setting.”
He also wanted to transmit the importance of dialysis access for nurses, saying they should be “a central component of the course when managing patients, especially in the role of fistula surveillance.”
Cho Ray Hospital acts as a referral center in southern Vietnam. Swinnen believes it should be promoted and services extended.
Tran Huon from Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vietnam adds to this statement: “I would recommend other institutions get involved in this program.”
This workshop helped improve Vietnamese physicians’ understanding of AVF theory and practice. For the majority of this community, overseas training is limited due to the language barrier and financial restrictions.
He adds: “The opportunity to have the whole week with Dr Swinnen was the most rewarding experience of this visit.”
The Educational Ambassadors Program helps emerging centers gain access to a teacher or an expert to join them onsite for specific hands-on training or to initiate and develop community based research and screening programs.
Deadlines for applications to the Educational Ambassadors Program are May 1st and October 1st every year.
For further information, click here.
