Nephrology Nurses Need Education On Dialysis Shared Decision Making Guideline

Main Category: Urology / Nephrology
Also Included In: Nursing / Midwifery
Article Date: 16 Jan 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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In 2000, the Renal Physicians Association (RPA) and the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) revised guidelines directing the care of dialysis patients; the guidelines presented a shared decision-making process for the appropriate initiation and withdrawal of dialysis between providers and patients. Nephrologists have acknowledged and accepted these guidelines as practice; however, it is unclear if clinical nephrology nurses and nephrology nurse practitioners are aware of and accept these guidelines. Christy Price Rabetoy, NP, and Bradley C. Bair, MS, MStat, surveyed nephrology nurses on this topic and share the results in their article in the November-December 2007 issue of Nephrology Nursing Journal.

In their article, Rabetoy and Bair acknowledge more education is needed for nurses regarding the availability and application of the guidelines for assisting with patient care and difficult ethical situations. Nephrologists do seek input from nurses when dealing with these types of clinical situations, say the authors, so if nephrology nurses are not familiar with the guidelines, they may have limited influence on patient outcomes, may not be able to fulfill their roles as patient advocates and may not be involved in patient decision making. The authors recommend nephrology nurses increase their awareness, knowledge, and comfort level with difficult, ethical patient care decisions.

Nephrology Nurses' Perspectives on Difficult Ethical Issues and Practice Guideline for Shared Decision Making Christy Price Rabetoy, NP; Bradley C. Bair, MS, MStat Nephrology Nursing Journal; November-December 2007 http://www.annanurse.org/journal

Nephrology Nursing Journal is a refereed clinical and scientific resource that provides current information on a wide variety of subjects to facilitate the practice of professional nephrology nursing. Its purpose is to disseminate information on the latest advances in research, practice, and education to nephrology nurses to positively influence the quality of care they provide. For more information, visit http://www.annanurse.org/journal.