ISN – ‘big daddy’ for children and kidneys
It all began with a bang in Bangalore, thanks to ISN. The Children’s Kidney Care Center at St John’s Medical College Hospital became sister center to Montreal Children’s Hospital, Canada. The vision was in place, the mission ready, borders to cross and boundaries to erase. Today, the partnership reflects the glory and pride of a far-fetched dream that turned into reality for children and their kidneys.
Despite being a tertiary referral centre, catering to a wide spectrum of childhood renal challenges and undertaking training programs in pediatric nephrology, St John’s Medical College was challenged to offer cost-effective clinical services, optimal multidisciplinary expertise and adequate community-oriented services.
Over the years, we have strived to develop faculty and build capacity in clinical services and research. This partnership helped the allied faculties grow regarding medical social work, multidisciplinary clinical skills, dialysis techniques and pediatric renal nursing.
Among the highlights were the telemedicine sessions, swapping courses in tropical nephrology and advanced renal replacement therapies and organizing regional and ISN Continuing Medical Education courses.
As sister centers, we launched a “Manual in Pediatric Nephrology” catering to the needs of pediatric nephrology trainees, pediatricians and intensivists. It uniquely mixes expertise from East and West, with the collaborative efforts of faculty from the sister centers.
Seen as a training center by the International Pediatric Nephrology Association, we also offer India’s highest post-doctoral course in pediatric nephrology. The Sister Renal Center Program promoted our services to include a pediatric Chronic Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis program, pediatric intensive care, renal replacement therapies and specialty clinics in Chronic Kidney Disease, renal nutrition, nephro-urology and renal transplantation.
Research opportunities have also grown to include a state-of-art renal genetic laboratory. Community awareness programs on common pediatric renal disorders, deceased organ donation have become successful annual events on this journey.
Our director, Dr Phadke is ISN Ambassador for pediatric nephrology at the Kenya National Hospital, Nairobi, Africa. ISN opened doors for myself, becoming member of the ISN Research Prevention Program and an ISN pediatric nephrology mentor. We got two Research Prevention Grants, of which I received the best poster award at the World Congress of Nephrology (WCN) 2013 and best paper at the WCN satellite meeting. I also presented a poster at the ISN Nexus Symposia on ‘Bone and Kidney’ in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2012 and was sponsored for a specialized training on grant proposal writing organized by the Scientific Writing Academy at the Mario Negri Institute, Bergamo Italy in September 2013.
This success story reveals the ISN’s support and our team effort. The story does not end here. Our “big daddy” has opened yet another path in its mission to serve the unprivileged world in renal care. This year, we will have a new sibling: Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. We look forward to working together and sharing our knowledge – adding more punch to the statement: ISN, the true “big daddy for kids and kidneys.”
Find out more about the ISN Sister Renal Center, CLICK HERE.
