India and Nepal partner to build interventional nephrology training
The Nobel Medical College Teaching Hospital in Biratnagar (Nepal) welcomed ISN Educational Ambassador Jeyaraj Balasubramaniam. The educational visit was a valuable cross-regional, hands-on learning experience, based on similar challenges they face when caring for dialysis patients in their regions.
In April, ISN Educational Ambassador Jeyaraj Balasubramaniam from Kidney Care Centre (India) joined staff for a week of hands-on training on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) as well as a Continuing Medical Education course focusing on hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.
The ISN Educational Ambassador Program is valuable in helping local nephrologists to initiate new services or improve existing ones at their renal center.
Shailendra Shrestha, from the Nobel Medical College Teaching Hospital, says: ‘To learn the same procedures in other centers takes at least six months. This program offers you active hands-on training in your comfort zone so that you can continue with the procedures even after the ISN Ambassador leaves the center.’
About the experience, Dr. Balasubramaniam adds:’I found Dr. Shailendra and the Biratnagar center to be in a situation similar to what I was in Tirunelveli [South Indian state] way back in 1992. I am happy that I could contribute and hasten the learning process of Dr. Shailendra.’
He believes the outcome of his visit shows the success of the program. ‘Dr. Shailendra has started doing new procedures like percutaneous CAPD catheter and AV Fistula management himself, within a short time. This should have an immediate positive effect on health care in that area.’
The visit was also a great opportunity to organize a talk on the scope and challenges of interventional nephrology in South Asia during the national conference of the Nepal Transplant Society and 11th Conference of the Nephrology Urology and Transplant Society (SAARC) in Kathmandu.
The ISN Educational Ambassador Program is open to applications all year long. Apply online.
