{"id":4045,"date":"2017-08-23T09:58:00","date_gmt":"2017-08-23T08:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thinkkidneys.nhs.uk\/aki\/?p=4045"},"modified":"2018-11-23T15:54:47","modified_gmt":"2018-11-23T15:54:47","slug":"think-kidneys-develops-new-material-educate-undergraduate-nurses-acute-kidney-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thinkkidneys.nhs.uk\/aki\/news\/think-kidneys-develops-new-material-educate-undergraduate-nurses-acute-kidney-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"Think Kidneys develops new material to educate undergraduate nurses about Acute Kidney Injury"},"content":{"rendered":"

Think Kidneys launches an important set of education resources for undergraduate nurses.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a growing global healthcare issue and the NHS is the first health care system in the world to try to tackle it. The Think Kidneys programme was set up to make diagnosis easier and to detect it earlier. 100,000 deaths each year are associated with acute kidney injury and it is understood that between a quarter and a third of these deaths could be prevented through better detection and awareness.<\/p>\n

All nurses, wherever they work \u2013 hospital, community or general practice, play a vital role in understanding the risks, detection, management and treatment of AKI. Nurses are also in the important position of being able to prevent AKI occurring in many instances.<\/p>\n

To date there have been no specific training sessions dedicated to AKI and its impact for student nurses. The new resources address this and provide vital information about the condition for student in years one, two and three of their nurse training.<\/p>\n

The resources have been developed by nurse specialists and comprise guidance for nurse educators on how AKI presents, what it is and how it develops and who is at risk of AKI. \u00a0All the resources and others, such as an animated infographic, are accessed through the Think Kidneys website<\/a>. Working with slide presentations students are taught through discussion and case studies the detail of what AKI is, how it affects the kidneys, how it can be managed and treated. Student nurses are also made aware which of the patients they care for are at risk of AKI and how risk can be managed by prevention of dehydration, and management of some medications which can affect the kidney during episode of illness.<\/p>\n

Andrea Fox, University Teacher, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Sheffield who helped to develop the resources:<\/p>\n

‘It’s my experience as a renal nurse educator for the last 16 years, that knowledge about the kidneys and problems associated with them are poorly understood not only by the general public but often among healthcare professionals too. It’s imperative that we raise awareness about the vital work the kidneys do and how we can look after them. We need to ensure\u00a0 that knowledge and actions about how to care for patients at risk of, or with, acute kidney injury are at the forefront of the minds of those working in care environments and not at the back. The introduction of learning materials specifically aimed at pre-registration nurses is another step towards achieving this.<\/p>\n

Despite being critical for life, around half of us don\u2019t know what our kidneys do, where they are in our bodies, why we need them, how to keep them healthy and what happens when they go wrong. It is essential that all nursing staff understand the risks and impact of AKI and these resources will help in the challenge to reduce incidents and improve outcomes for people who suffer and episode of AKI.<\/p>\n

Links to the resources<\/u>:<\/p>\n