What is #KIDNEYcon ? and why you should check it out
John Arthur reached out and asked me to get involved with KIDNEYcon last year. I recall seeing a few tweets about the conference in 2016. In fact, I sent a few out myself.
It looked like a great program. Tons of great workshops and lectures. The bonus is that Little Rock, Arkansas is my hometown. I was born there, my family is still there, and I walked the halls of UAMS for 8 solid years as a med student and resident. How could I resist. I jumped on the opportunity and did what I could to give the meeting a boost, not that it needed much help from me. I'm a conference junky. I haven't missed a Kidney Week since 2008 and try to make it to NKF, AHA and whoever else will invite me. First thing you have to realize about John Arthur is that he is open to anything and ultra collaborative. He had a vision for KIDNEYcon but was open to experimenting. The idea is to create an environment that is bursting at the seams with collaboration and innovation. To allow passionate people a chance to interact, build knowledge, and relationships. The foundation for KIDNEYcon are hands-on workshops. We wanted to make sure that these are interactive and allowed for the participants to build important skills. 2018 will see this expand to cover not only procedures but also kidney pathology, acid/base/electrolytes, and even communication skills. The second part of KIDNEYcon is the ability to network, make new friends, and deepen relationships. There are plenty of opportunities to relax and get to know your colleagues from around the world. KIDNEYcon 2017 was a great experience and I would love to give others the opportunity to come to Little Rock for KIDNEYcon 2018. I have always been interested in education. I spend a majority of my time at Kidney Week walking through the education posters or attending the education oral sessions. The education sections are relatively new at Kidney Week and my sense is that interest continues to grow. I am very excited to host the Nephrology Education Summit this year with my good friend and long time education collaborator Kenar Jhaveri next year. This will be a mix of nephrology and non nephrology speakers with the intent to inspire others to begin innovative education projects. Take a few days out of your schedule and come to Little Rock April 6-7 and check it all out. We would love to have you attend.
Matt Sparks
@Nephro_Sparks
KIDNEYcon Education Director