Dialysis Education Initiative: Increasing Interest in Nephrology

Background: Nephrology continues to struggle with workforce shortages, and the declining interest among trainees is evident in low fellowship match rates. While multiple factors contribute to this trend, one major issue is the lack of early exposure to nephrology, particularly to dialysis. To help bridge this gap, we developed an interactive educational initiative where students engage directly with dialysis concepts through hands-on demonstration while connecting with faculty and exploring nephrology as a potential career path. Methods: Our initiative began with a student-focused event designed to demystify dialysis. The session started with a concise 15-minute didactic overview covering essential dialysis principles, including indications for dialysis, vascular access, and the mechanism of hemodialysis. Then, we introduced a hands-on dialysis model, which was built from syringes, tubing, and dialyzer filters. We then used a color-changing solution (pineapple juice mixed with butterfly pea flower) to visually demonstrate countercurrent flow and solute clearance. Through this demonstration, students learned using tactile demonstrations with direct faculty engagement, which resulted in quality learning about nephrology. Results: Our pilot is not only feasible but had extremely positive feedback from both the students and the faculty. The dialysis model has proven particularly effective at stimulating questions and discussion about renal physiology and treatment principles, with faculty noting high levels of participant engagement throughout all session components. Post-event feedback highlighted two key outcomes: students left with a clearer understanding of how dialysis works, and most reported an increased interest in pursuing nephrology. Conclusion: Our workshop contributes to the efforts to increase education about and interest in nephrology through experiential learning. The model's modular design allows for adaptation to various educational settings and learner levels. We are currently pursuing IRB approval for systematic outcome assessments and plan to host another session in the fall. Initiatives like this could play a meaningful role in addressing nephrology’s workforce challenges by making the field more accessible and appealing to trainees.