Introduction

The Division of Nephrology of Taipei Veterans General Hospital is dedicated to patient care, basic and clinical research, clinical training and specialty education, and comprised of four centers, including hemodialysis center, peritoneal dialysis center, chronic kidney disease center and transplant immunology center to provide integrated treatment options and individualized care provided by cooperative team work with members from multiple disciplines. We have faculty currently including 12 faculty members and 6 fellowship positions. There are 59 inpatient beds and 84 dialysis beds (outpatient and inpatient) available currently.

Learning Objective

1. To learn how to approach patients with kidney diseases by integrated history taking and appropriate physical examinations.
2. To learn important concepts from a wide variety of renal diseases, including the diagnosis and management of acute and chronic renal failure, electrolyte imbalance, acid-base disorder and other nephrology principles.

Available Supervisors

1. Dr. Der-Cherng Tarng: Nephrology, Dialysis, Renal physiology, Renal immunology and Free radical research.
2. Dr. Wu-Chang Yang: Internal medicine, Nephrology, Dialysis, Physiology and Cardiology.
3. Dr. Yee-Yung Ng: Nephrology, Dialysis and Renal immunology.
4. Dr. Tsai-Hun Wu: Nephrology, Renal transplant, Transplant immunology and Tomm-Horsfall glycoprotein.
5. Dr. Jinn-Yang Chen: Internal medicine, Nephrology, Dialysis and Peritoneal dialysis research.
6. Dr. Yao-Ping Lin: Internal medicine, Nephrology, Dialysis and Hemodynamics.
7. Dr. Chih-Ching Lin: Nephrology, Dialysis, Genetic medicine and Vascular access research.
8. Dr. Chih-Yu Yang: Nephrology, Dialysis, Mineral bone disease and Stem cell biology.
9. Dr. Szu-Yuan Li: Internal medicine, Nephrology, Dialysis and Podocyte research.
10. Dr. Yu-Hsin Chen: Chronic kidney disease, Proteinuria and Dialysis.
11. Dr. Shou-Ming Ou: Nephrology, Dialysis, Renal immunology and Epidemiology.
12. Dr. Kuo-Hua Lee: Internal medicine, Nephrology and Dialysis.

Tentative Schedule

WEEK ONE

1. Participate in ward rounds & clinical activities with nephrology fellow and attending.
2. Attend nephrology core-lectures and meetings.
3. Visit nephrology examination room to observe renal biopsy procedures.

WEEK TWO

1. Participate in ward rounds & clinical activities with nephrology fellow and attending.
2. Attend nephrology core-lectures and meetings.
3. Attend nephrology-radiology combined conference.
4. Visit hemodialysis center and peritoneal dialysis center.
5. Visit outpatient clinics of general nephrology.

WEEK THREE (selective)

1. Participate in ward rounds & clinical activities with nephrology fellow and attending.
2. Attend nephrology core-lectures and meetings.
3. Attend nephrology-pathology combined conference.
4. Participate in nephrology consultations with supervisors.
5. Visit outpatient clinics of general nephrology.

WEEK FOUR (selective)

1. Participate in ward rounds & clinical activities with nephrology fellow and attending.
2. Present an article of the field of nephrology in the journal meeting
3. Attend nephrology core-lectures and meetings.
4. Participate in clinical practice of hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.
5. Participate in nephrology consultations with supervisors.
6. Visit outpatient clinics of renal transplantation.

Assessment

1. Mini-CEX (Mini clinical evaluation exercise),
2. CbD (Case based discussion)
3. DOPS (Direct observation of procedure skills) performed by supervisors.

References

1. Schrier’s Diseases of the Kidney. Thomas M. Coffman et al, 9th Edition, 2013.
2. Principles and Practice of Dialysis. William L. Henrich, 4th edition, 2009。
3. Pediatric Nephrology. Ellis D. Avner, William E. Harmon, Patrick Niaudet, 6th edition, 2009。
4. Review articles from Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, Kidney International, American Journal of Kidney Disease, Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology and Pediatric Nephrology