From the Editor
March is National Kidney Month—a good time to improve our awareness of those bean-shaped organs that remove waste products from our bodies, balance our fluids, produce hormones, and work so hard to keep us healthy.
Check out the National Kidney Foundation’s overview describing how the kidneys work and the causes of chronic kidney disease, and consider making a donation to support the National Kidney Foundation.
Read on for kidneys in the news, a surgical video, and a kidney crossword puzzle. In the Spotlight this month is Beverly Genis of Huntington Beach, CA. And as usual we’ve collected job postings and reference links of interest.
Enjoy!
Julie Lancaster, Editor
News: 6-way Kidney Transplant Chain
On March 5 and 6, doctors at California Pacific Medical Center “began an unusual series of kidney transplants on Thursday with six living donors providing organs to six patients in a chain that began with a woman described as an altruistic donor unrelated to any of the recipients,” as reported by
The Guardian.
Read more.
A few days later,
Wired published
The Science Behind a Crazy 6-way Kidney Exchange, about the same event. The author, Katie M. Palmer, writes, “Getting six people to donate their kidney to a complete stranger is a remarkable feat of altruism. But it’s also a testament to biomedical technology: The testing and treatments that make kidney transplants so successful, and the algorithms doctors and patients use to find the right match—or, in this case, six matches.” Read the whole story
here.
&npsp;
Video: Transperitoneal Single Port Left Nephrectomy
This
video from WebSurg shows a single port left nephrectomy in a female patient with a non-functioning hydronephrotic kidney, due to chronic ureteral obstruction caused by pelvic endometriosis. The surgeon uses a transumbilical approach with the patient in a right flank position. This access respects the basic laparoscopic principles of left nephrectomy. It also allows for specimen extraction through the umbilicus with no need for other incisions.
WebSurg is a virtual surgical university, accessible worldwide through the Internet. Logon is free and allows you to access a wealth of e-publications, lectures and surgical videos.
Perioperative Puzzle: Kidney Crossword
Test your knowledge of kidney anatomy and surgery with this month’s
crossword puzzle.
When you’re ready to check your answers follow
this link to see how well you did. Good luck!
iPad / iPhone Apps
Diseases. This app is designed for urology and nephrology healthcare professionals and students. The narrated simulation videos make it easy to understand and explain different pathologies and therapies. You can use it to enhance communication with patients or to increase your knowledge and understanding of various urological topics. For both iPhone and iPad
In the Spotlight
Name: Beverly Genis
Credentials: RN, BS, RNFA, CNOR
Student Status: Was already an RNFA; opted to take NIFA’s 6-day SutureStar Summit hands-on workshop in 2014
City and State: Huntington Beach, CA
Current Job: RNFA at a nonprofit hospital in Fountain Valley, Orange County, CAWhat made you want to become an RN?
I would like to say there was an altruistic motive to join the nursing program at my local community college in Southern California (Los Angeles Harbor Community College). But the truth is that I needed to get a job and the nursing program seemed to offer the best option for me at the time. It was only after becoming a RN and moving into the operating room that I can say I found my career.
As an established RNFA, why did you decide to take RNFA training again? I joined the SutureStar Summit to improve my suturing skills. There are as many ways to close a surgical site as there are surgeons. I wanted to build my on my current experience and be better prepared to adapt to each surgeon’s suturing preferences.
What is one thing you learned in the SutureStar workshop that was particularly helpful? That is difficult to pinpoint–there were so many ideas shared by the instructor, Dean Parsons. I learned so much to improve my suturing skills; the program was remarkably helpful to me.
NIFA Office Hours
Monday-Thursday 7:30am – 5:00pm (Fridays 7:30am – 4:00pm).
